USA: Biden administration takes up Texas case after drowning of three migrants

The US administration of President Joe Biden on Sunday condemned the obstruction of Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott after the drowning of three migrants on the border with Mexico.

A vocal supporter of Donald Trump, who has made anti-immigration a major theme of his re-election campaign, Greg Abbott is openly challenging the authority of the Biden administration, accusing it of “deliberate inaction” in the face of a record influx of migrants at the border in recent months.

Texas and the Biden administration are also locked in a legal standoff. The Justice Department accuses the governor of interfering with the Federal Border Patrol’s mission by blocking its access to a key stretch of the border with Mexico, a claim Texas authorities dispute.

“A woman and two children drowned near Eagle Pass Friday night while Texas authorities prevented Border Patrol from providing assistance,” White House spokesman Angelo Fernandez Hernandez said Sunday.

“While we are still establishing the facts of these tragic deaths, one thing is clear: Governor Abbott’s policies are cruel, inhumane and dangerous. Federal Border Patrol must have access to the border to enforce our laws,” he added.

“Tragedy”

Texas House Democrat Henry Cuellar also blamed the Texas National Guard, which this week took exclusive control of a key sector near the Rio Grande border town of Eagle Pass, “for failing to provide access to border security.” police rescue migrants.”

“This is a tragedy for which the state of Texas is responsible,” he said in a statement Saturday.

In a statement quoted by US media, Texas National Guard officials said they searched the Rio Grande on Friday night for migrants “with lights and night vision goggles” after Border Patrol informed them there was an “emergency situation” but no I didn’t find any. .

The National Guard then called off the search, noting that Mexican authorities were “responding to an incident on their side of the river,” according to the same source.

New obstacles at the border

In December, a federal appeals court barred the Border Patrol from removing or dismantling razor wire installed by Texas near Eagle Pass to carry out its missions unless justified by a medical emergency. In early January, the Ministry of Justice asked the Supreme Court to overturn this decision.

But this week the Texas National Guard began installing new barriers that “effectively prohibit Border Patrol agents from accessing the border or approaching the river along that 2.5-mile stretch,” said Elizabeth Prelogar, Biden administration legal counsel. Friday.

In its written response to the Supreme Court on Saturday, “Texas acknowledges that it took control of the Eagle Pass Municipal Park for law enforcement and relief purposes.” But he assures “that until now he was not aware of the current objections of the federal security services and is working to resolve them as quickly as possible.”