Migrant mother, two children drown near Eagle Pass; Rep. Henry Cuellar blames Texas policy

A senior congressman from South Texas is laying the blame for the drowning deaths of a migrant mother and two children near a sealed-off park in Eagle Pass along the U.S.-Mexico border at the feet of state officials whom he accused of refusing to allow federal agents to try a rescue.

“Border Patrol personnel were forced out of Shelby Park earlier this week by the Texas National Guard under order of Governor (Greg) Abbott," U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said in a statement Saturday. "In this situation, the Texas Military Department and the Texas National Guard did not grant access to Border Patrol agents to save the migrants. This is a tragedy, and the State bears responsibility.”

Cuellar, who has served in Congress since 2005, said the bodies of the unidentified migrants were discovered Saturday morning by Mexican authorities at the Rio Grande. Around 9 the night before, Cuellar said, U.S. Border Patrol agents contacted state National Guard officials deployed to the region as part of Abbott's Operation Lone Star near the Shelby Park entrance but were told that even in an emergency, the federal agents would not be allowed to enter the park.

Late Wednesday, Texas authorities commandeered the public park over the objection of Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas Jr. as part of the state's effort to combat unlawful immigration.

In a statement to news outlets, the Texas Military Department confirmed that it is not allowing anyone who is not part of the state's operation to enter the park but said it did not see migrants in distress before the bodies were found.

More: Gov. Greg Abbott denies he's advocating shooting migrants crossing Texas-Mexico border

“The current posture is to prepare for future illegal immigrant surges and to restrict access to organizations that perpetuate illegal immigrant crossings in the park and greater Eagle Pass area,” the military department said.

"At no time did TMD security personnel along the river observe any distressed migrants, nor did TMD turn back any illegal immigrants from the US during this period," the statement continued. "Also, at no point was TMD made aware of any bodies in the area of Shelby Park, nor was TMD made aware of any bodies being discovered on the U.S. side of the border regarding this situation."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a statement criticizing the state's policy of restricting access near Shelby Park.

"We remain gravely concerned by actions that prevent the U.S. Border Patrol from performing their essential missions of arresting individuals who enter the United States unlawfully and providing humanitarian response to individuals in need," the agency said.

On Friday, before federal border officials warned of the migrants in distress, the U.S. Homeland Security Department petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to force the state of Texas to allow federal border officials to operate in the park and on the adjoining section of the Rio Grande, saying the Texas National Guard was blocking U.S. Border Patrol operations.

Eagle Pass, a city of about 29,000 that shares a border with Piedras Negras, Coahuila, has been in the crosshairs of the expanding immigration crisis and the ever-escalating tensions between Abbott, a Republican, and Democratic President Joe Biden's administration.

More: From ground zero of the US immigration crisis, Mayorkas in Texas calls on Congress to act

Also ensnared in the controversy are several Democratic mayors and governors whose communities have been on the receiving end of more than 100,000 migrants, who have been granted temporary permission to remain in the United States and have been sent by Texas on chartered buses and aircraft to several cities across the country.

The three-term Texas governor has been unapologetic about sending thousands of National Guard soldiers and state troopers to the border as part of his $11 billion initiative. And on Friday, Abbott waved off criticism of his remark on a talk show this month that Texas is not shooting crossing migrants "because, of course, the Biden administration would charge us with murder."

Biden has been the target of Abbott's ire since assuming the presidency nearly three years ago and rolling back many of former President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration policies. And since then, most Americans have soured on the Democratic president's approach to border and immigration issues. A poll by CBS News last week showed that 63% of respondents want tougher policies to discourage unlawful immigration.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Migrant drownings further add to Texas-US tension at southern border