Authorities discovered two dead bodies entangled in the floating buoy border barrier erected by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Texas D...
Authorities discovered two dead bodies entangled in the floating buoy border barrier erected by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Texas DPS received a report of a suspected drowning victim floating upstream of the buoys Wednesday, an agency spokesperson told the DCNF. A second body was later discovered at the buoys, the Mexican government told ABC News.
“Preliminary information suggests this individual drowned upstream from the marine barrier and floated into the buoys,” Texas DPS Director Steve McCraw said in a statement shared with the DCNF. “There are personnel posted at the marine barrier at all times in case any migrants try to cross.” Texas DPS notified U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Mexican Consulate after the first discovery, the spokesperson said.
The causes of death, identities and nationalities of the deceased remain unclear.
Migrants walk between Concertina wire and a string of buoys placed on the water along the Rio Grande border with Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 16, 2023, to prevent illegal immigration entry to the US. (Photo by SUZANNE CORDEIRO / AFP)
The area is well known for large numbers of migrants crossing illegally into the U.S., which is the reason Abbott deployed the buoys.
Both Mexico’s government and that of the U.S. have expressed issues with the barrier.
“We reiterate the position of the Government of Mexico that the placement of chained buoys by Texas authorities is a violation of our sovereignty. We express our concern about the impact on the human rights and personal safety of migrants of these state policies, which run counter to the close collaboration between our country and the United States federal government,” the Mexican foreign ministry said of the discovery of the first body.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Abbott on July 24 over the buoys, arguing that they’re in violation of two sections of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899 for allegedly obstructing navigable waters and allegedly flouting approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to the court filing.