Two children and a woman died trying to cross the Rio Grande on Friday near a Texas park where state officials have blocked access to federal Border Patrol officers.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed the deaths Saturday night to USA TODAY.
Border Patrol officers learned around 9 p.m. Friday that six migrants were in distress as they tried to cross the river separating the U.S. and Mexico near Eagle Pass’ Shelby Park, according to a Texas Congressman who first announced the deaths.
Since early in the week, Texas officials, under orders from Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, have prevented federal officials from entering a stretch of border that includes the 47-acre city park.
“In responding to a distress call from the Mexican government, Border Patrol agents were physically barred by Texas officials from entering the area,” the DHS statement said. “The Texas governor’s policies are cruel, dangerous, and inhumane, and Texas’s blatant disregard for federal authority over immigration poses grave risks. The State of Texas should stop interfering with the U.S. Border Patrol’s enforcement of U.S. law.”
The Texas Military Department confirmed via email that Border Patrol contacted state soldiers about migrants in distress at 9 p.m., but the state agency denied seeing any migrants in the river, turning back migrants attempting to cross unlawfully, or finding bodies on the U.S. side at Shelby Park.
A unit near the park’s boat ramp searched the river with lights and night vision goggles but found no migrants, the state agency said in a statement. At 9:45 p.m., the statement said, state soldiers saw Mexican authorities responding to an incident on the Mexican side of the river. Border Patrol told the state soldiers they didn’t need additional assistance, according to the statement. The Texas Military Department then stopped the search.
“TMD maintains water rescue equipment and actively works with local EMS to aid migrants needing medical care,” the statement said.
In court filings, the state acknowledged it has seized control of the park for “law-enforcement and disaster relief purposes.”
Texas officials said they hadn’t been aware of the federal government’s complaints about access and are “working promptly to address them.”
In a statement posted to the social media site X, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a moderate Democrat whose Texas district is southeast of the park, blamed Gov. Abbott’s policies for the deaths.
“This is a tragedy, and the State bears responsibility,” Cuellar said.
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La Rancherita del Aire, a Mexican news outlet in Piedras Negras, across from Eagle Pass, reported Mexican officials with an aid group rescued two others, a woman and child, with hypothermia who were treated. Their current condition is unclear. The migrant group was comprised of Hondurans, La Rancherita reported.
Mexican officials were reportedly interviewing the rescued people to identify the three who died.
Two members of the Mexican National Guard involved in the rescue effort also suffered hypothermia, La Rancherita reported.
On Friday, the city of Eagle Pass issued a warning for cold weather in the area. Air temperatures hovered in the mid-40s Friday night.
Abbott’s office did not respond to questions Saturday evening, nor did U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, the Republican congressman who represents Eagle Pass.
Texas and the Biden administration are embroiled in a court battle about who has jurisdiction over the Eagle Pass park. The Justice Department told the Supreme Court Friday that the state has prevented the Border Patrol from being able to determine if a migrant in that area needs emergency aid.
Fencing is restricting access to the Eagle Pass park, which contains a staging area for the Border Patrol and the boat ramp from which patrol boats are launched, the federal government said in requesting on Jan. 2 that the Supreme Court take on the case.
“Texas’s new actions since the government’s filing demonstrate an escalation of the State’s measures to block Border Patrol’s ability to patrol or even to surveil the border and be in a position to respond to emergencies,” U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote.
While the most recent deaths highlight the inability of Americans to care for migrants in distress, deaths aren’t new to the border community. Earlier Saturday, a group called Border Vigil Eagle Pass held a rally in Shelby Park to remember those who previously lost their lives crossing the border.
“You have to see the ambulance coming back from the river without the flashing lights on,” Amerika Garcia-Grewal, an organizer with the group, told USA TODAY. The lack of sirens, she said, means “there is somebody dead inside, and we have to live with that.”
In the dusk Saturday, hundreds of white crosses in Shelby Park’s patchy grass were seen in photos posted on Facebook by Border Vigil, each one representing someone’s life lost.
Maureen Groppe and Lauren Villagran contributed to this report.
