Mexican authorities announced on Wednesday that they recovered two bodies in the Rio Grande River, one of which was found in the nearly 1,000-foot-long barrier of large buoys installed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in July.
Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department reported that a body had been found, with officials confirming hours later that another body was found a few miles upriver from the buoys. The Mexican Migration agency added on Thursday that one victim was Mexican and the other was from Honduras. The Honduran government said it will assist in the repatriation process.
The cause of death is unknown in both cases.
Steve McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), said their preliminary investigation indicates the body found near the barriers did not drown there, but instead drowned upstream and floated to the barrier.
“There are personnel posted at the marine barrier at all times in case any migrants try to cross,” McCraw told US media. Meanwhile, Texas DPS spokesperson Lt. Chris Olivarez said in a statement that the department “received a report of a possible drowning victim floating upstream from the marine barrier,” adding the department contacted the US Customs and Border Protections and the Mexican consulate.
Last month, a Texas state trooper complained internally about the barriers and Abbott’s Operation Lone Star program. In internal emails later leaked to the media, the trooper complains the barriers force migrants into more dangerous parts of the river.
The trooper also alleged he saw a pregnant woman having a miscarriage while trapped in the razor wire barrier erected along the banks of the river. He also stated officers have been directed to push migrants back into the river and withhold water from migrants.
The Texas DPS said in response to those allegations that there is no policy to withhold water from migrants.
The Mexican government has also raised complaints about the barriers, saying they violate treaties governing structures in the river and Mexican sovereignty.
The Justice Department is also suing the state of Texas, asking a court to force authorities to take them down. The complaint says they are humanitarian and environmental concerns, have hurt US foreign policy and that Texas officials are required to get permission before erecting structures in the river.
A Biden administration official also told US media the barriers have prevented US Border Patrol agents from helping migrants in need of assistance and that in one week, they have encountered “dozens” of drowned migrants, including babies.
Abbott has been in a high-profile feud with the Biden administration and other Democrats over immigration. He contends the federal government has failed to prevent the “invasion” of Texas by immigrants, giving the state the authority to protect itself.
Illegal immigration plummeted in June to the lowest levels of the Biden administration, something the administration has attributed to its policies. June was also the hottest month on record. Texas in particular suffered through a record-breaking heatwave, which may have also contributed to the lowered migration rates.