Mexico Says a Dead Body Was Seen Floating Near Texas Governor Greg Abbott's Floating Barriers
Texas Governor Greg Abbott's controversial floating barriers along the Rio Grande may have finally killed someone, as Mexico reported that a dead body was seen floating near them.
Experts have warned that these barriers will not deter migrants from crossing into the US, and they will risk life and limb to get a better life across the border. These experts have also warned that the barriers might just cause more drownings and deaths for migrants trying to cross, as the floating barriers were designed to make it difficult for those trying to climb over or swim under them.
Mexico's Foreign Relations Department stated that it is now trying to recover that body, though it confirmed it did not know that person's nationality or the cause of death, according to the Associated Press.
Mexico is not very fond of Greg Abbott's floating barriers, as it filed a diplomatic protest against them last month. The Biden administration is also suing the state of Texas over these barriers. Mexico claims that these floating barriers break long-standing treaties between the two North American countries, while the Biden DOJ stated that the barriers "violated federal law, raised humanitarian concerns, and presented public and environmental risks."
"We made clear our concern about the impact on migrants' safety and human rights that these state policies would have," stated Mexico's Foreign Relations Department, which revealed that it was the Texas Department of Public Safety that notified Mexico's consulate in Eagle Pass about the dead body last Tuesday.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott's Floating Barriers and Razor Wire Continue To Threaten Lives
The floating barriers were installed last July as part of Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star, which aims to crack down on illegal border crossings. The methods have been criticized as overly harsh as they also include low-lying razor fences that have already cut children trying to cross and also allow members of the Texas National Guard to arrest immigrants for trespassing.
READ MORE: Mexico Files Diplomatic Complaint After Texas Breaks Boundaries Treaty With Floating Barriers
While the Biden administration is trying to have Texas take these barriers down, Abbott has doubled down on the issue. The case will now head to federal court, where a judge will decide whether Texas should tear these barriers down.
According to USA Today, these floating barriers and razor wire were placed in high-traffic areas on purpose to make the crossings even more unsafe. Should the migrants make it through the floating barriers, they would now have to contend with the low-lying razorwire and possibly getting arrested if caught by Texas authorities, which have recently been under fire after a report surfaced that they made some human rights violations against some immigrants.
Texas Willing To Take Case to the Supreme Court
Greg Abbott remains defiant, however, even if both Mexico and the federal government are trying to make him take those barriers down.
"First of all, the statute on which the lawsuit is based does not seem to apply to the buoys that are at issue. But second, even if it does, I believe that the constitutional right of the State of Texas to secure our border and to defend our sovereignty supersedes any statute," said the governor in his statement.
According to KGNS, Abbott admitted that he would be willing to take the issue to the Supreme Court if he had to.
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This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
WATCH: Mexico files diplomatic complaint over Texas governor's floating border barrier - WFAA
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