Text: Cuba News 360 Newsroom
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced plans to block migrant entry into North American territory with a series of measures, most notably laying barbed wire in the Rio Grande in high-traffic areas.
There are also plans to install boat barriers on the river to deter people arriving at the busiest points, especially at night.
Univisión explains that the Republican politician has also foreseen the deployment of more than 10,000 guards at the border, who will wear anti-riot gear to deal with any caravans of undocumented immigrants.
Abbott, who is running for re-election as an advocate of anti-immigration policies, said he would allow buses to send newcomers from other nations directly to Washington DC.
“We are sending them to the United States Capitol where the Biden administration will be able to more directly address the needs of the people who are allowed to cross our border,” the governor said in clear indictment of the current Democratic administration. which has made entry more flexible for undocumented immigrants after the Trump era.
The Rio Grande makes media headlines for being the final site of Latin American migration from Mexico to the United States. According to the BBC, it is a river of shallow depth and width, as it reaches 2.5 meters in the migrant crossing sectors and between 5 and 15 meters from side to side. However, what makes it really dangerous is its flash floods.
In recent weeks, the dissemination of images and videos of Cubans crossing the famous river in groups, even tied with a rope so as not to be separated by the force of the current, has become commonplace on social networks.
In March, arrivals of Cubans across the southern border of the United States set a new record, as more than 32,000 were registered, virtually double the nearly 16,500 registered in February.