Texas State Trooper Admits They Were Ordered To Push Wounded Migrants Back to Rio Grande, Deny Them Water
A Texas state trooper-medic blew the whistle on the inhumane treatment of migrants as part of Gov. Greg Abbott's efforts to stop migrants from crossing the US-Mexico border, especially in Eagle Pass, Texas where migrants try to cross the Rio Grande to get to the US side of the river.
CNN obtained emails from the Texas Department of Public Safety, where the Texas state trooper expressed concerns regarding the inhumane treatment of migrants. The trooper-medic stated that they "were given orders to push the people back into the water to go to Mexico" and were also ordered not to give the migrants who managed to cross any water despite the sweltering summer heat.
The email was a report of weekly events and operational concerns from June 24 to July 1. It showed what the state trooper had to deal with over that period, including treating a 4-year-old girl who passed out in 100-degree heat while members of the Texas National Guard pushed the group she was with back to Mexico.
The trooper also mentioned that another man had a significant laceration on his leg after he tried to rescue his child from razor wire that was placed in a buoy to deter crossings. Experts have long warned that these buoys would not deter migrants and would only cause injury and death. A woman who was also trapped on one of the wires suffered a miscarriage while a 15-year-old boy broke his leg while trying to cross a dangerous part of the Rio Grande with no buoys.
Texas State Trooper Says They Were Ordered To Push Exhausted Migrants Back to the Rio Grande
In another account, a Texas State Trooper identified as Nicholas Wingate told his supervisor that he and another trooper were ordered to push back a group of 120 migrants back into the water to go back to Mexico. This happened after they stumbled upon the group on June 25, with the group containing young children and mothers nursing babies.
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According to the Associated Press, the trooper said in his email that he found the migrants' treatment to be inhumane.
Texas Department of Safety spokesman Travis Considine stated that they are already investigating the accounts that the trooper provided and said that the department "has no directive or policy that instructs troopers to withhold water from migrants or push them back into the river."
White House, Migrant Groups Condemn Greg Abbott Over the Inhumane Treatment of Migrants
Greg Abbott, whose office denied that his policies endangered the lives of migrants on Tuesday. was blasted by the League of United Latin American Citizens, with national president Domingo Garcia stating that the group "condemns the inhumane treatment of innocent people and denounces the use of razor wire, buoys, and any other barriers that jeopardize the safety of women and children seeking asylum."
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also weighed in, saying that if what the trooper says is true, then she says that it was "abhorrent" and "dangerous."
She added, "We are talking about the bedrock values of who we are as a country and the human indecency that we are seeing."
The Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department are also looking into the incident and is finding out what action can be taken against Texas.
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This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
WATCH: Texas trooper says officials were told to push migrants into river, deny them water - CBS News