In a heated exchange, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott denied any responsibility for the deaths of migrants this week near a buoy barrier built by Texas in the Rio Grande, despite charges to the contrary from the Mexican government.
Tensions escalated between the Mexican government and Abbott’s office after the grisly discovery of two deaths, apparently of migrants attempting to enter the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. The Mexican government immediately blamed the buoys for the fatalities, which sparked a public spat.
Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesman for Abbott, didn’t pull any punches when he said, “The Mexican government’s accusation is clearly incorrect. Based on what we know thus far, it appears that death by drowning happened before any of the bodies reached the fences. The Border Patrol was notified by the Texas Department of Public Safety that a body was floating upstream from the river’s barriers in the Rio Grande.
The Texas Department of Public Safety reportedly alerted the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs about a “lifeless body caught in the southern part of the buoys.” Lt. Chris Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety countered this by saying that the river’s current had carried the corpse “down into the buoy.” Olivarez emphasized that the buoys themselves were not to blame for the deaths and that the 1,000-foot stretch of shallow region in which they were placed served just as markers (the water depth was between knee and waist level).
To make matters more interesting, Olivarez said that Mexico confirmed the second body was discovered “miles upstream from the marine barriers,” disproving the Mexican government’s claim.
Abbott’s administration has maintained that the buoy barrier is essential for border security and stopping illicit crossings in response to Mexico’s worries over sovereignty.
Abbott’s buoy barrier has also been challenged by the federal government, which last month filed a lawsuit against Texas in federal court. The Justice Department asserted that Texas had broken the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899 by erecting an impediment without first receiving permission from Congress.
Abbott’s office highlighted the impact of the border policies of the Biden administration, indicating that they lead to the loss of human lives in the middle of the tragedy. To secure the border, Mahaleris urged both President Biden and Mexican President Lopez Obrador to put people’s safety first.