A woman and two children drowned in the Rio Grande on Friday night in Eagle Pass, Texas, after U.S. border agents were prevented from responding, federal officials said Saturday.
In a statement, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said U.S. Border Patrol agents were made aware of the migrants’ distress by the Mexican government but were unable to enter the area from the U.S. side after Texas National Guard troops, under the direction of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, prevented them from doing so.
“In responding to a distress call from the Mexican government, Border Patrol agents were physically barred by Texas officials from entering the area,” the spokesperson said.
The deaths were highlighted Saturday by Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, who said the deceased were part of a group of six migrants in the river Friday night who were in distress.
Mexican authorities recovered the bodies of three of the migrants Saturday, Cuellar said in a statement. Identities and exact ages were unavailable.
“Border Patrol attempted to contact the Texas Military Department, the Texas National Guard, and DPS Command Post by telephone to relay the information, but were unsuccessful,” Cuellar said 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. However, Texas Military Department soldiers stated they would not grant access to the migrants — even in the event of an emergency — and that they would send a soldier to investigate the situation.”
In its own statement, the Texas Military Department disputed that narrative, saying its personnel were made aware of a distress report but could find no migrants needing help in the river and later were made aware of an incident nearby, on the Mexican side of the river, that did not require their help.
The department said it had been in touch with Border Patrol on Friday night, and the agency said Mexican authorities did not need the Texas department’s help.
“At no time did TMD security personnel along the river observe any distressed migrants, nor did TMD turn back any illegal immigrants from the US during this period,” it said.
Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Texas Department of Homeland Security referred such requests to the Texas Military Department, saying it was not involved in Friday night’s incident.
In a statement to NBC News White House correspondent Allie Raffa, a White House spokesperson said one thing is “clear” about Saturday night’s incident: “Governor Abbott’s political stunts are cruel inhumane and dangerous.”
The statement continued: “U.S. Border Patrol must have access to the border to enforce our laws.”
The mayor of Eagle Pass, Rolando Salinas Jr., said during a news conference Thursday he received a phone call the previous day from a Texas Department of Pubic Safety official informing him the state was taking emergency custody of Shelby Park, which lies along the river and is in the area where the three migrants were in distress.
Salinas said a Texas Military Department official confirmed the takeover. The department directs the Texas National Guard.
The move came amid an ongoing court battle between the Department of Homeland Security and Texas over access to the border in Eagle Pass, which DHS says is cordoned off by concertina wire erected by the state. A lower court in December ruled in favor of Texas and barred federal agents from removing the barriers.
The latest U.S. Supreme Court filing by the Department of Homeland Security this week renews its request to prevent the state from blocking federal agents from area.
“Border Patrol’s normal access to the border through entry points in the federal border barrier is likewise blocked by the Texas National Guard installing its own gates and placing armed personnel in those locations to control…
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