A nine-year-old Mexican girl drowned while attempting to cross the Rio Grande river with her family to reach the United States, according to federal officials. Customs and Border Protection announced the news on Thursday, amid the growing humanitarian crisis at the southern border sparked by President Joe Biden's reversal of Trump-era immigration policies.
It was the third incident of a Mexican migrant drowning at the border in less than two weeks. Last week, two migrants drowned near the Texas border town of Laredo. Biden's "more humane" approach to Mexican immigrants has fueled a surge in the number of people trying to enter the United States, with several losing their lives in the process.
Innocent Life Lost
According to federal authorities, the girl had been trying to cross into Texas through Eagle Pass on Saturday. She was being accompanied by her mother and three-year-old brother when all three began struggling in the water, a Customs and Border Protection spokesman said. All three reportedly lost consciousness while wading through the water.
Agents with the Del Rio Sector's Marine Unit were on a riverine patrol when they were flagged down by bystanders standing on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande River after they saw the family struggling in the water. They reached the family and began administering first aid as they brought the migrants to shore but it already a bit too late by that time. Although the mother and the three-year-old boy were able to be revived, the nine-year-old girl was pronounced dead by medics.
Risking Everything
The children were Mexican nationals; the mother is from Guatemala, officials said. "We extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of this small child," said Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Austin L. Skero II in a statement announcing the death. "During these hard times our agents remain resilient, and I am extremely proud of their efforts to preserve human life," he added.
According to the Washington Times, this is the first loss of life of a child amid the current border crisis, as thousands of unaccompanied children swarm toward the United States. The recent tragedy comes less than a week after two other migrants drowned in the Rio Grande.
Harrowing video from that incident showed three individuals, believed to be from Honduras, struggling to stay afloat in the rushing waters. One of the migrants could be heard saying "help" in Spanish as US Border Patrol agents were seen standing on the shore.
The incidents of migrants drowning while trying to cross over into the United States comes amid former President Trump blasting the current administration's immigration policies as "inhumane."
During an interview with Fox News on Thursday night, Trump claimed that Biden is leaving families and children to live in "squalor." He also hit out at Biden for allowing thousands to flood across the border with no Covid testing.
