Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said Sunday that Texas will block Border Patrol access to the river, allowing migrants to drown in the Rio Grande as they try to cross the southern border into the United States. He said the Democratic Party's accusation that he did so was inaccurate.
Federal officials and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) claimed Friday that the Texas Department of Military Affairs denied Border Patrol access to the area to rescue the lives of a woman and two children. He claimed the state was responsible for the deaths of the three migrants. 6 people lost.
“This is a tragedy and the state bears responsibility,” Cuellar said in a statement.
An investigation by the Texas Department of Military Affairs found the accusations to be “completely inaccurate” and said the drowning had already occurred by the time Border Patrol requested access.
DHS claims Border Patrol was blocked from entering area by Texas to rescue migrant who later drowned
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said accusations that Texas allowed migrants to drown by blocking Border Patrol access to the Rio Grande were inaccurate. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
“At the time Border Patrol requested access, a drowning had occurred and Mexican authorities were in possession of the body, and Border Patrol communicated these facts to TMD personnel on scene,” TMD said in a news release. Ta.
In response to the findings, Abbott said Cuellar and others who blamed Texas for the drowning had overlooked important facts.
“It turns out @RepCuellar (and some in the media) were so intent on pointing the finger at Texas for immigrant drowning that they forgot to know the facts,” Abbott wrote on X (formerly Twitter). wrote. “Drownings had already occurred and been discovered in MX when BP requested access to the river. In fact, the deaths were due to the effects of Biden's open border magnet.”
TMD said its troopers were in direct contact with the Border Patrol on Friday when the agency learned of the migrants in distress and requested access to Shelby Park. The soldiers said Border Patrol agents told them Mexican authorities had already recovered the bodies of two drowned migrants when they requested entry.
Border Patrol specifically requested access to the park to retrieve two additional migrants who were traveling with the deceased and believed to have crossed to the boat ramp, the statement said. Two immigrants were arrested by TMD, one was turned over to the Department of Public Safety, and the other was transferred to EMS due to early hypothermia.
White House accuses Abbott of trying to 'politicize the border' after Texas seizes park along Rio Grande
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, said the state of Texas is responsible for the migrants' deaths. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
The statement said soldiers continued to use lights, night vision goggles and thermals to prevent any more migrants from entering the river or becoming lost.
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Following the allegations against TMD, the Department of Homeland Security on Sunday sent a cease-and-desist letter to Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, ordering the state to stop denying Border Patrol agents access to Shelby Park.
