There are widespread reports of a standoff over the weekend between troops of the Texas National Guard and officers of the Customs and Border Protection.
Following instructions by Gov. Greg Abbott, the state National Guard did not allow CBP access to migrants crossing into the U.S. through the Eagle Pass.
Unfortunately, there are reports that this led to the drowning of some migrants trying to cross the Rio Grande River. Several Americans have taken to social media to blame Gov. Abbott for the migrant deaths.
Democrat Representative Henry Cuellar made details of the drownings public on Saturday. According to him, some six migrants tried crossing the Rio Grande on Friday evening. Along the line, some of the people trying to cross were noticeably under duress.
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After noticing the situation from the American side of the river shore, Border Patrol officers tried unsuccessfully to call the state National Guard. Seeing this was not working, the CBP officers went around the physical barriers on the river bank. They attempted to gain access to the drowning migrants through a migrants processing area at Shelby Park.
Unfortunately, the Texas National Guard troops did not allow the Border Patrol access to the holding area. The facility originally belonged to CBP, but the state National Guards now have control. In a statement, a regional head of the CBP claims that change was necessary to allow border patrol officers to have a broader reach.
So, the CBP officers who noticed the emergency could not help the immigrants, thanks to a battle enforcing the jurisdiction of the local National Guard. According to Cuellar’s statement, the state troop said they don’t have orders to allow the CBP through under any circumstances, not even an emergency.
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In a later news report, three of the six distressed migrants later drowned as there was no one to rescue them. The victims of the Rio Grande migrant drowning include one woman and two children.
Since 2022, Democrats and Republicans have had divergent views about the influx of asylum seekers through the southern borders. GOPs see the situation at the US-Mexico border as a crisis that needs to be plugged by strong immigration policies. Democrats, on the contrary, are more liberal and don’t mind processing the migrants and granting asylum to the eligible ones.
However, Republican lawmakers are not too happy with President Biden’s poise about the influx of migrants. In fact, some states like Gov. Abbott’s Texas are coming up with local laws that will discourage migrants from entering the U.S. through their borders.
ALSO READ: Federal Officials Blame Texas Troops for Death of Three Migrants at Rio Grande Crossing
However, about the migrants’ drowning, many Americans have taken to X, blaming and criticizing Gov. Abbott.
The official X account of the Texas Democratic Party published a post that reads, “Greg Abbott is Texas’ own grim reaper, and he must be held accountable for the blood on his hands.”
Likewise, Jerusalem Demsas is a writer with the Atlantic, and he also said something on X about the drowning. His post reads, “Now, a woman and two children have drowned in the Rio Grande as Texas officials physically prevented federal agents from intervening.”
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