More Bodies Pulled From Rio Grande, Including 3-Year-Old, As Migrant Crossings Rise

Advocates say migrants should be given safe means to seek asylum, not razor-wire obstacles.

By
Nina Golgowski
Sep 22, 2023, 07:16 PM EDT

Three bodies have been pulled from the Rio Grande along the Texas-Mexico border this week, including that of a 3-year-old boy, as state and border patrol officials erect dangerous obstacles to prevent migrant crossings that have reportedly neared record levels this month.

The youngest victim was pulled from the water near Eagle Pass on Wednesday by a Texas tactical marine unit. They’d received a report that the boy had been swept away in the current while attempting to cross with family around 3:30 p.m., the Texas Department of Public Safety said. The boy was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

The recovery of the child’s body took place just north of a controversial floating marine barrier that immigrant advocates and both Mexican and U.S. officials say dangerously diverts migrants into parts of the river that are deeper and more treacherous.

Bodies have been found along the barrier since its installation in July.

DPS spokesperson Lt. Chris Olivarez, in a statement posted online, said the child’s death was “another senseless tragedy” stemming from what Olivarez called the federal government’s failure to discourage unlawful border crossings.

More:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/migrant-bodies-found-rio-grande-river_n_650d9a95e4b0fb95353abe20