Risks and razor wire on the Rio Grande



632




Omar Ornelas, El Paso Times
Updated Mon, July 31, 2023 at 12:14 PM EDT








Migrants breach a section of concertina wire after crossing the Rio Grande River on July 20, 2023, from Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico into Eagle Pass, Texas hoping to seek asylum in the U.S.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's border security program, Operation Lone Star, is facing its first direct challenge by the Biden administration.







Buoys placed by the state of Texas float on the Rio Grande international boundary between Mexico and the U.S. in Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 21, 2023.

A snake-like line of orange river buoys and concertina wire placed along the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass, Texas at Abbott's command are being called cruel to migrants and dangerous U.S. Border Patrol agents charged with border security.

The Department of Justice sued Texas over Abbott's border measures last week.

It's the latest hotspot in the nation's struggles to deal with mass migration, immigration law reform and partisan politics. U.S. and Mexican leaders say Abbott's actions are illegal.





Migrants hold hands for safety as they cross the Rio Grande into the U.S. in Eagle Pass, Texas on July 20, 2023, from Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico. The migrants were part of a group of nearly 30 migrants who crossed hoping to seek asylum in the U.S.




Ashlyn, the infant daughter of Yesimar and Andi, is passed over a wire fence by two other migrants in the embankment of the Rio Grande in Piedras Negras, Mexico, as the group of migrants looks for a safe passage into Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 21, 2023.

The buoys, placed in the center of the Rio Grande, are in an area where migrants attempt to turn themselves in to Border Patrol agents in hopes of seeking asylum in the U.S. Concertina wire and Texas Department of Public Safety officers prevent the migrants from entering the U.S. to turn themselves to Border Patrol agents.

More: Texas Democrats in Congress: Biden must assert authority to check Abbott on immigration






Migrants walk through thick brush along the southern embankment of the Rio Grande in Piedras Negras, Mexico, before crossing into Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 21, 2023.





Andi Silveira looks toward Eagle Pass as he and his wife, Yesimar Medina, and their children cross the Rio Grande in Piedras Negras, Mexico, to Eagle Pass, Texas.

Some migrants, including children, have suffered injuries as they desperately attempt to breach sections of concertina wire on the river bank. Other migrants opt to use human smugglers who guide them upriver to cross where there is no concertina wire but where the river currents are so strong that they run the risk of drowning.

The migrants reported they have no option but to make illegal entries as they arrive in the border city with no resources and cannot stay at shelters for longer than three days.





Migrants hold hands as a strong current begins to drag them as they begin to cross the Rio Grande from Piedras Negras, Mexico into Eagle Pass, Texas on July 21, 2023.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Gov. Greg Abbott's border tactics lead to DOJ lawsuit



https://www.yahoo.com/news/risks-raz...110230859.html