Five migrants have died in five days in the Texas border alone, including in Del Rio, once the country’s busiest crossing for migrants, as they tried to cross into the US.
Unlike millions of other migrants who successfully entered the country during the first three years of the Biden administration, these migrants were not so lucky: Three died at the hands of migrant smugglers, another died in the rapids of the Rio Grande River, and in the last case, one migrant succumbed to the harsh, arid conditions of an isolated ranch in Texas.
The most deadly incident occurred on May 21 near Del Rio, Texas, after migrant smugglers were pursued at high speed by Texas law enforcement officials. According to law enforcement officials, the pursuit began at approximately 9:30 p.m. when law enforcement first spotted the vehicle on Recreational Road 2 near Amistad Dam. According to law enforcement officials, the driver of the vehicle was attempting to negotiate a sharp turn near an area known as Rough Canyon. The driver lost control of the vehicle and several passengers were thrown from the vehicle in the subsequent crash.
Two migrants were killed at the scene of the crash and several others were seriously injured. One additional migrant died after arriving at a hospital in San Antonio. The driver fled the scene of the crash but was later arrested by authorities. Law enforcement officials identified the suspected smuggler and the driver of the vehicle as Asha Kisinja, 21, of Houston. The Texas Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are investigating the incident and will be filing federal charges of felony immigrant smuggling against Kisinja.
In a separate case, the body of an unidentified migrant was pulled from the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass by Texas Department of Public Safety officials earlier this week after he was believed to have drowned while trying to cross the river near Shelby Park.
The latest migrant death occurred on Friday, May 24, when an unidentified migrant was found dead at a remote ranch south of Eagle Pass. Law enforcement sources said the migrant was suffering from heat stroke and dehydration, as temperatures in the area have exceeded 110 degrees Fahrenheit in recent days.
The bodies of the migrants found in Eagle Pass will be taken to a local funeral home while attempts to identify them continue. If identification is not successful, as in many other cases, law enforcement officials said, the migrants will be given a pauper’s burial in a local cemetery in Maverick County.
Randy Clark Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the U.S. Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as Chief of the Law Enforcement Operations Division, where he led operations for nine Border Patrol stations in the Del Rio Sector, Texas. Follow him on Twitter: @RandyClarkBBTX.
