The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has alleged that Texas officials denied the government access to a stretch of border where they were trying to rescue three drowned migrants.
The federal government's account was offered Saturday, hours after U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar said Friday evening that the Texas Military Department and the Texas National Guard did not allow Border Patrol agents access to rescue the migrants.
Mexican authorities recovered the bodies of a woman and two children across the border at Eagle Pass on Saturday as tensions escalated between the state and the U.S. government over immigration enforcement.
A day earlier, the Justice Department warned Supreme Court jurists that Lone Star State officials had seized control of an area known as Shelby Park in the border city and were not allowing Border Patrol agents access.
The Texas Military Department said in a statement it searched the river but could not find the migrants. Cuellar, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security subcommittee of the House Budget Committee, called the deaths “a tragedy.”
Texas Department of Public Safety officers work in a fenced-in Shelby Park on Thursday. The park lies in a major corridor for migrants arriving illegally from Mexico and is the center of Abbott's aggressive attempts to stop them, known as Operation Lone Star
The team was Abbott's state-sponsored effort to stop illegal immigration and was led by both the Texas Department of the Army and the Texas Department of Public Safety
“This is a tragedy and the state bears responsibility,” Cuellar said in a statement that neither confirmed nor denied the government’s claims that law enforcement officers “physically prevented” agents from entering the park.
Homeland Security, meanwhile, reiterated Cuellar's account of the 911 call and blamed the incident on Gov. Gregg Abbott and his handling of the ongoing refugee crisis.
The agency said: “In response to an emergency call from the Mexican government, Border Patrol agents were physically barred from entering the park by Texas officials.”
The Bulletin added of Abbott's administration: “The Texas governor's policies are cruel, dangerous and inhumane, and Texas' blatant disregard for federal immigration authority poses grave risks.”
The park lies in a major corridor for migrants arriving illegally from Mexico and is the center of Abbott's aggressive attempts to stop them, known as Operation Lone Star.
The initiative was Abbott's state-sponsored effort to stop illegal immigration and was led by both the Texas Department of the Army and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
A recent investigation by the Military Times and the Texas Tribune found that at least four of its intelligence officers were disciplined for alleged illegal behavior – which the publications say was actually uncovered almost a year ago, in September 2022, but just a few weeks ago revealed was spread over the summer.
The Texas Military Department – the state's safety watchdog – reportedly told media that it completed its investigation in September 2022, but is still waiting to release its report and “finally determine” disciplinary action until state leaders would have received it.
After the deaths were announced, the administration criticized Gov. Greg Abbott's policies that seek to stop illegal immigration, calling them “cruel, dangerous and inhumane.” [a] Blatant disregard for federal authority.”
Texas Department of Public Safety officers guarded an entrance to Shelby Park on Thursday, a day before the Texas Military Department and the Texas National Guard “did not allow Border Patrol agents access to rescue the migrants,” officials said
As problematic stretches of the border remain occupied, migrants are regularly swept to their deaths by the currents of the notorious Rio Grande – which, despite its dangers, remains a popular border crossing
While only four were reportedly subject to interim disciplinary action by the administration, a total of six were said to have been involved in the debacle and handed over a list of names of potential migrants at a meeting in February 2022.
These names were reportedly compiled after the agents secretly infiltrated invite-only WhatsApp groups to spy on asylum seekers and track their movements.
Lt. Col. David Tyler, head of the intelligence wing from December 2021 to fall 2022 and one of the four who reportedly already faced internal disciplinary action, told the media that “all the generals wanted to know about the next mass migration.”
The state has so far spent more than $4.5 billion over two years to station the groups on the southern border, and Abbot's office has continued to escalate its legally questionable practices.
As problematic stretches of the border remain occupied, migrants are regularly swept to their deaths by the currents of the notorious Rio Grande – which, despite its dangers, remains a popular border crossing.
Abbott's office referred questions about the drownings on Friday to the Texas Military Department, which said its security personnel saw Mexican authorities respond to an incident on the other side of the river about 45 minutes after Border Patrol alerted the state to the situation River responded.
The department said it maintains water rescue equipment and works with local paramedics to help migrants in need of medical care.
“At no time did TMD security personnel observe migrants in distress along the river, nor did TMD turn away illegal immigrants from the United States during this period,” the ministry stressed in the statement.
Cuellar, who represents a Texas border district, reiterated that Mexican authorities alerted Border Patrol late Friday to the distressed migrants struggling in the river.
Aerial photo shows migrants lining up at the border fence to enter the United States in Ciudad Juarez Chihuahua, Mexico
Migrants line up at the border fence to enter the United States in Ciudad Juarez Chihuahua, Mexico
He said federal agents tried unsuccessfully to call members of the Texas National Guard at Shelby Park and relay the information.
Agents then visited the entrance to the park but were turned away, according to the congressman, who said they were told a security guard would be sent to investigate the situation.
The 50-acre park is owned by the city but used by the state Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department to monitor border crossings.
Although daily border crossings fell from thousands to about 500, state authorities this week erected fences and stationed military vehicles at the entrance to deny access to the public and Border Patrol agents, a court filing said.
In its filing with the Supreme Court, Texas rejected claims that Border Patrol agents were denied access. They said the Border Patrol has reduced its presence since the summer as the state moved its resources and manpower to the park.
Federal agents also were granted access to the area to ensure supplies, the state said.
Abbott's office referred questions about the drownings on Friday to the Texas Military Department, which said its security personnel saw Mexican authorities respond to an incident on the other side of the river 45 minutes after Border Patrol alerted local officials to the situation River responded. The investigation continued until Sunday morning
Cuellar said there was no immediate information available about the victims' nationality, relationship and age. The Mexican government made no public statements.
On Saturday, citizens held a ceremony in the park to commemorate the deaths of migrants in their region.
Julio Vasquez, a pastor, said access was granted after he requested it from the city and shared images showing the entrance was still fenced off and guarded by National Guard members and military vehicles.
The investigation into the deaths is still ongoing.