Federal officials announced on Saturday that a lady and two children perished in the Rio Grande on Friday night in Eagle Pass, Texas, after U.S. border guards were prohibited from intervening.
The Mexican government informed U.S. Border Patrol agents of the migrants’ plight, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security spokesperson. However, Texas National Guard troops, acting on behalf of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, prevented the agents from entering the area from the U.S. side.
“Texas officials physically prevented Border Patrol agents from entering the area while they were responding to a distress call from the Mexican government,” the statement stated.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Texas, brought attention to the fatalities on Saturday, stating that the victims were among six migrants in difficulty who were in the river on Friday night.
Cuellar stated in a statement that three of the migrants’ bodies were found by Mexican officials on Saturday. It was unknown who they were and how old they were.
“Border Patrol made unsuccessful attempts to communicate the information by phone to the Texas Military Department, the Texas National Guard, and the DPS Command Post,” Cuellar stated in the statement.
He continued: “Border Patrol agents then made physical contact with the Texas Military Department and the Texas National Guard at the Shelby Park Entrance Gate and verbally relayed the information. Soldiers from the Texas Military Department, however, declared that they would not allow the migrants entry, not even in an emergency, and that they would dispatch a soldier to look into the matter.
The Texas Military Department refuted that story in a statement of its own, stating that although its personnel were informed of a distress report, they were unable to locate any migrants in the river in need of assistance. Later, they learned of an incident that was occurring close by, on the Mexican side of the river, which did not call for their assistance.
“During this period, TMD did not turn back any illegal immigrants from the United States, nor did its security personnel along the river observe any distressed migrants,” the statement stated.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by Abbott’s office. The Texas Military Department was referred to handle such requests by the Texas Department of Homeland Security, which denied any involvement in the Friday night event.
In a statement to NBC News White House correspondent Allie Raffa, a White House spokesman said one thing is “clear” regarding Saturday night’s incident: “Governor Abbott’s political stunts are cruel inhumane and dangerous.”
It went on, “U.S. Border Patrol must have access to the border to enforce our laws.”
During a news conference on Thursday, Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas Jr. stated that the state had taken emergency custody of Shelby Park, which is located near the river and where the three migrants were in distress, after receiving a call the day before from a Texas Department of Public Safety official.
An official from the Texas Military Department affirmed the takeover, according to Salinas. The department directs the Texas National Guard.
The action was taken in the midst of a legal dispute between Texas and the Department of Homeland Security for access to the border at Eagle Pass, which the DHS claims is blocked off by concertina wire that the state has installed. In December, a lower court decided in Texas’s favor, prohibiting federal officials from taking down the obstacles.