- On Wednesday morning, streams of people were filmed making the dangerous crossing of the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass, Texas
- Many of the group were women with small children
- They formed a human chain and used ropes to get across, but some were swept away or pulled to shore where they required resuscitation measures
A shocking video shows hundreds of migrants using ropes and forming human chains to help people cross the treacherous Rio Grande in Texas.
Streams of people, including many women with young children, were filmed risking their lives to cross the deceptively deep and dangerous river in Eagle Pass.
Footage taken on Wednesday morning showed people being swept away and others being pulled unconscious from the water.
It was recorded by NewsNation border correspondent Ali Bradley and first aired on the “Morning in America” program.
Texas border czar Mike Banks told NewsNation, “23 years in border patrol and I’ve never seen a border so chaotic. ‘I’ve never seen so much death.’
A woman who lost an arm and suffered third-degree burns when the bus she was traveling on rolled over while crossing from Venezuela told a reporter that it was still “worth it” to reach safety in the United States.
The group formed human chains when the rope wasn’t long enough to reach over
A man was pulled ashore unconscious and was given resuscitation measures by the group
Officials from the Florida Wildlife Commission and the Texas Department of Public Safety were on scene and warned people not to cross due to the danger.
Some adults waded into the water with children on their shoulders, others clung to tubes to be pulled across the water.
In desperation, the crowd used ropes and formed human chains to prevent people from being swept away by the current.
One day a mother panicked when the current caught her small child and she almost lost him.
Another man was pulled onto a boat by officers and given cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Authorities pulled an unconscious man from the water and performed CPR as others, including a toddler, watched.
The gathered crowd erupted in cheers as he regained consciousness and sat up.
Another man was pulled ashore by other members of the group and given CPR, and he also woke up.
As they reached the Texas coast, they encountered rows of barbed wire, some begging for water and dry clothing.
They had to walk for two hours to get around the fence and get to a place where authorities could process them.
Officers went out onto the water to cut the rope and search for anyone in distress
An aerial view shows desperate families climbing through a wire to enter the United States
This came as the Texas House of Representatives passed a new state law Tuesday night that gives local law enforcement the ability to arrest people who cross the border illegally.
Under the law, those arrested would then have the option of deporting themselves to Mexico or face misdemeanor charges and deportation.
Crossing the border between ports of entry is already illegal under federal law, and legal experts have criticized the Texas bill as conflicting with a Supreme Court ruling that says states cannot enforce immigration laws on their own.
In September, a 3-year-old boy and a man died while attempting to cross Eagle Pass. The boy was trying to reconnect with his family when he was swept away.
The boy’s body was found by Texas Department of Public Safety officers north of the ocean barrier in Eagle Pass.
State troopers brought him to shore where they were met by paramedics who took him to a nearby hospital. The child was pronounced dead at the medical facility.
Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas declared a state of emergency at the time, with reports that 100 people were pouring in every hour and warning that the city’s hospitals were also overwhelmed.