(TheRedWire.com) – On Saturday, many social media users condemned Republican Governor Greg Abbott of Texas after the Texas National Guard troops had blocked the federal Border Patrol from being able to approach migrants that ended up drowning.
On Saturday, Texas Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar issued a written statement confirming the event. According to the reports, former Border Patrol agents had noticed on Friday evening six migrants that were trying to cross the Rio Grande River in distress. At first, the Border Patrol officers had attempted to alert state officials about what was going on through the phone but had been unsuccessful.
The federal agents proceeded to try and enter the migrant holding and processing area in Shelby Park, located near Eagle Pass. Previously Abbott had deployed Texas National Guard troops to seize the park. The park is located near the area where the group of migrants was spotted struggling to cross the river.
Cuellar in his statement noted that the state troops claimed that they were not in a position to allow them entry even if there was an emergency. CBS News reported that the federal agents had been physically blocked from entering the area. This ultimately resulted in three migrants, a woman and two children drowning.
The Republicans have been pushing over the last few years that the surge of migrants in the U.S. border could be defined as a “crisis” or “invasion” and have been pushing against the Democrats who are calling for the process for asylum-seeking migrants to be streamlined. They have additionally called for President Joe Biden to implement stricter laws and strengthen border security to get approval for a new government funding deal.
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