Joe Biden's ‘Deadly Open Border Policies’ Blamed by Texas Gov. For ‘Stacks of Bodies’ Found in Lorry
© AP Photo / Eugene Garcia
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Forty-six people were found dead on June 27 inside a tractor-trailer on a Texas highway in what authorities suspect was a migrant smuggling attempt gone awry amid surging numbers of attempted illegal crossings into the US via the southern border.
President Joe Biden and his immigration policies have been slammed as having caused the death of at least 46 people inside a lorry in Texas.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted that the blame for gruesome discovery rests squarely on the US President, tweeting that, “These deaths are on Biden."
At Least 42 People Found Dead Inside Truck Carrying Migrants In Texas.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 28, 2022
These deaths are on Biden.
They are a result of his deadly open border policies.
They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law. https://t.co/8KG3iAwlEk
Abbott, who is facing re-election for a third term in November, went on to denounce the “deadly open border policies” of the 46th president that and pointed to the current incident as the result of his “refusal to enforce the law."
Horrific. This..is..WRONG.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 28, 2022
How many more people have to die before Dems give a damn?#BidenBorderCrisis https://t.co/rRa1nAAPxr
Blame was similarly attributed to the Biden administration by several other officials, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who called the latest incident "horrific" and "wrong."
Rep. Tony Gonzales went on Twitter to reference Alejandro Mayorkas, who had been nominated by Biden to lead the US Secretary of Homeland Security.
Today in San Antonio it was 102 degrees. Imagine being abandoned inside an 18-wheeler left to die - 42 people died today - will @AliMayorkas even mention their names?
— Tony Gonzales (@TonyGonzales4TX) June 28, 2022
“When will the nightmare end," the Republican queried, as he called on Mayorkas to resign.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg also made reference to border policies being at fault.
‘Stacks of Bodies’
In what US authorities have described as one of the worst such incidents in recent years on the southern border, the bodies of at least 46 suspected migrants were found on June 27 on Quintana Road, on the outskirts of San Antonio.
28 June 2022, 03:22 GMT
The city’s authorities were alerted to the scene just before 6 p.m., after a worker in a nearby building heard a cry for help, San Antonio Police Chief Bill McManus said at a news conference late on Monday. The worker discovered what appeared to be an abandoned trailer with doors partially opened. Once he looked inside, he saw a number of deceased people, McManus said.
First responders were said to have found one body outside the truck and dozens more inside.
The fire chief added that there was no water inside the lorry and no working air conditioning or refrigeration.
Sixteen people - 12 adults and four children - were removed from the 18-wheeler and sent to nearby medical facilities for further care, suffering from heat exhaustion and apparent dehydration, according to San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood, adding:
“We’re not supposed to be able to open a truck and see stacks of bodies in there.”
William McManus later confirmed that three people had been taken into custody and a federal investigation has been taken over by the Department of Homeland Security.
There has not been an official statement to confirm whether the discovered individuals were being transported from Mexico or elsewhere. This comes as temperatures in San Antonio reached a high of 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39.4 C) on Monday amid an ongoing heat wave.
Border ‘Out of Control’
The deadly discovery was made after just last week Republican Rep. Andy Biggs described the situation at the US-Mexico border as "overrun," "out of control" and "dangerous," while also predicting more deaths would soon be discovered.
"There is going to be deaths," the Arizona Republican told Harris Faulkner on "The Faulkner Focus" on 21 June.
Ever since the Joe Biden administration came to power determined to undo everything former President Donald Trump had done to secure the southern border, the number of apprehended migrants has soared to the highest level in decades.
I joined with a group of colleagues to release a new report: “Biden’s Border Crisis: Examining Policies that Encourage Illegal Migration."
— Senator Todd Young (@SenToddYoung) June 23, 2022
This report highlights the Biden Administration’s failed border policies & offers solutions to secure our #SouthernBorder. pic.twitter.com/0HzRJkHaHc
Illegal crossings at the US border are at “astronomical and record-breaking levels,” warned a just issued report from the Republican minority on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The 47-page report, “Biden’s Border Crisis: Examining Policies That Encourage Illegal Migration,” weighed in on what it said was an “utter failure of the Obama and Biden administrations to address it.”
Underscoring that 234,088 foreigners were encountered by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the border attempting to illegally enter the country in April - the highest-ever monthly total – the report said “55% of those traveling illegally [use] a smuggler.”
Biden, stated the report, ended the successful Migrant Protection Protocols, which had sent illegal arrivals back into Mexico while their cases were decided. Furthermore, the Democratic POTUS scrapped the Asylum Cooperative Agreements with Northern Triangle countries, thus undoing efforts to streamline the asylum-processing system, it stated.
The Republicans warned that the Joe Biden administration planned to end Title 42, the health-related provision enacted by Trump because of COVID-19. This had allowed CBP to expel illegal immigrants before they could be admitted to claim asylum.
21 June 2022, 15:12 GMT
The report recommended using “all available tools to secure the border” right now, including Title 42 and the Migrant Protection Protocols, as well as measures to reestablish the successful “Remain in Mexico” agreement.
“Only once the border is no longer an unmitigated chaos can the country begin to think about reforming immigration laws in the greater national interest,” concluded the report.
