Authorities discovered two dead bodies in or near the floating buoy border barrier erected by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Texas DPS received a report of a suspected drowning victim floating upstream of the buoys Wednesday that was later found entangled in the barrier, an agency spokesperson told the DCNF. A second body was later discovered near the buoys, the Mexican government told ABC News.
“Preliminary information suggests this individual drowned upstream from the marine barrier and floated into the buoys,” Texas DPS Director Steve McCraw said in a statement shared with the DCNF. “There are personnel posted at the marine barrier at all times in case any migrants try to cross.”
Texas DPS notified U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Mexican Consulate after the first discovery, the spokesperson said. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Biden’s DHS Chief Totally Ignores Question About Record Number Of Migrants Being Let Into The US)
One of the victims was a child from Honduras, Mexican officials said Thursday, according to The Dallas Morning News. The identity of the other victim is still unclear.
Migrants walk between Concertina wire and a string of buoys placed on the water along the Rio Grande border with Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 16, 2023, to prevent illegal immigration entry to the US. (Photo by SUZANNE CORDEIRO / AFP)
The area is well known for large numbers of migrants crossing illegally into the U.S., which is the reason Abbott deployed the buoys.
Both Mexico’s government and that of the U.S. have expressed issues with the barrier.
“We reiterate the position of the Government of Mexico that the placement of chained buoys by Texas authorities is a violation of our sovereignty. We express our concern about the impact on the human rights and personal safety of migrants of these state policies, which run counter to the close collaboration between our country and the United States federal government,” the Mexican foreign ministry said of the discovery of the first body.
Abbott’s office, however, pushed back on Mexico’s claims, saying that both President Joe Biden and the Mexican president are to blame for such deaths, his spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris told the DCNF.
“Unfortunately, drownings in the Rio Grande by people attempting to cross illegally are all too common. As was reported in early July before the marine barriers were installed, four people drowned trying to cross the river. This is a result of the reckless open border policies of President Biden and President López Obrador,” Mahaleris said.
“In fact, before Texas deployed barriers, the United Nations declared the U.S.-Mexico border the deadliest land crossing in the world. If President Biden and President López Obrador truly cared about human life, they would do their jobs and secure the border,” Mahaleris said.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Abbott on July 24 over the buoys, arguing that they’re in violation of two sections of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899 for allegedly obstructing navigable waters and allegedly flouting approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to the court filing.
This article has been updated with comment and additional information from the office of Gov. Greg Abbott. The headline has been updated to clarify where the bodies were found.
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