Three migrants drown at US border as Texas blocked their rescue
Al Jazeera
Texas Military Department barred US border agents from trying to rescue the migrants in the Rio Grande, US officials say.
A woman and two children have drowned in the Rio Grande river as they tried to enter the United States from Mexico after Texas military officers prevented federal border officials from aiding them, according to US border officials and a member of Congress.
The deaths on Friday night come as a dispute over immigration intensifies between Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, and the administration of US President Joe Biden, a Democrat, with a record number of migrants and refugees having illegally crossed the border since Biden took office in 2021.
Under Abbott, Texas has increasingly sought to implement its own border controls, which have historically been the legal domain of the federal government.
Officials said the three were attempting to cross the river near Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, which is not a legal port of entry and is where the Texas National Guard this week added concertina wire and fencing.
In a filing in the US Supreme Court on Friday, the federal government accused Texas of erecting new barriers to block federal Border Patrol agents from reaching a boat ramp they use to access the Rio Grande.
