By Steve Neavling
A woman and two children had already drowned in the Rio Grande when Border Patrol agents sought access to the river but were denied by Texas National Guardsman last week, the Justice Department acknowledged in a recent court filing.
The filing appears to contradict initial statements by the Biden administration, which suggested Texas authorities prevented agents from providing “emergency assistance” to the three migrants.
According to Robert Danley, CBP’s lead field coordinator for the Del Rio area, Mexican officials alerted the U.S. at 9 p.m. Friday that two migrants were in distress on the American side of the border, The Dallas Morning News.
The official from the Mexican National Institute of Migration also said one woman and two children had drowned about an hour earlier in the same area.
When a Border Patrol supervisor arrived at Shelby Park’s entrance, the Texas National Guardsmen prevented agents from accessing the park.
The following day, the woman and two children were found dead, and two other migrants were rescued by Mexican officials.
“As conveyed by the representative of Mexico’s National Institute for Migration, those two migrants were on the U.S. side of the river then attempted to return to Mexico when they were rescued by a Mexican government airboat and safely returned to Mexico where they were suffering from hypothermia,” Danley said.
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, previously said in a statement that Texas “bears responsibility” for the drownings.
