© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Texas Nationwide Guard troops watch a Mexican official stop a gaggle of individuals from coming into the Rio Grande River throughout from Shelby Park on the U.S.-Mexico border in Eagle Go, Texas, U.S., January 12, 2024. REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee Beal/
By Jonathan Allen
(Reuters) – A lady and two kids drowned within the Rio Grande as they tried to the enter the U.S. from Mexico on Friday night time after Texas navy officers prevented federal border officers from going to their assist, in accordance with U.S. Consultant Henry Cuellar.
The deaths come as a dispute over immigration intensifies between the Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, and the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
The migrants have been making an attempt to cross the river close to Shelby Park in Eagle Go, in accordance with Cuellar’s assertion, which isn’t a authorized port of entry, and the place the Texas Nationwide Guard this week added new concertina wire and fencing.
In a courtroom submitting within the U.S. Supreme Courtroom on Friday, the U.S. authorities accused Texas of erecting the brand new limitations to dam federal Border Patrol brokers from reaching a ship ramp they use to entry the Rio Grande.
In a response filed on Saturday, Texas stated that federal Border Patrol brokers had largely stopped utilizing the boat ramp in current months and till Friday’s submitting, it was “unaware of federal law enforcement’s current objections, and is working promptly to address them.”
Federal Border Patrol brokers discovered at about 9 p.m. of a gaggle of migrants in misery as they tried to cross the Rio Grande, in accordance with the assertion by Cuellar, a Democrat.
Federal brokers tried to contact Texas officers by phone, however have been unsuccessful, after which went in particular person to the Shelby Park entrance to talk to the Texas Navy Division and the Texas Nationwide Guard officers there.
“However, Texas Military Department soldiers stated they would not grant access to the migrants – even in the event of an emergency – and that they would send a soldier to investigate the situation,” Cuellar’s assertion stated.
The our bodies of the girl and two kids have been recovered on Saturday by Mexican authorities, Cuellar stated. The identities of the three folks haven’t been made public.
“This is a tragedy, and the State bears responsibility,” Cuellar stated.
A spokesperson for Texas’s governor referred inquiries to the Texas Navy Division, which didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. A spokesperson for the Border Patrol didn’t instantly reply to questions.
The dispute earlier than the Supreme Courtroom is a part of broader antagonism between the Texas governor and the Biden administration over a record-breaking variety of migrants illegally crossing the border since Biden took workplace in 2021.
Texas has more and more sought to implement its personal border controls, which have traditionally been the authorized area of the federal authorities.