9-Year-Old Migrant Girl Drowns Trying to Cross Border into U.S.
Young Mexican child perishes in Rio Grande River near Texas
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A 9-year-old migrant girl has drowned while trying to cross the border into the United States with her family via the Rio Grande River into Texas, according to federal officials.
The young Mexican child is the third drowning at the border of a migrant from Mexico in less than two weeks.
Two migrants also perished last week near the Texas border town of Laredo.
Border officials revealed that the girl died last Saturday while crossing the border into the country at Eagle Pass with her mother and 3-year-old brother.
All three began struggling in the water, a Customs and Border Protection spokesman said in a statement on Friday.
The spokesman, Dennis Smith, said the family of migrants was unconscious and had washed ashore onto an island in the river when bystanders flagged down nearby Border Patrol agents.
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The agents, who were patrolling the Rio Grande in the area, began administering first aid as they brought the migrants to shore.
There, they were joined by Eagle Pass Emergency Medical Services personnel and were able to revive the mother and the little boy.
But the girl could not be saved. She never regained consciousness and was later pronounced dead, Smith said.
According to the New York Post, officials stated that the two children were Mexican nationals, and the mother was from Guatemala.
“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 press release.
“During these hard times our agents remain resilient, and I am extremely proud of their efforts to preserve human life.”
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The U.S. Customs and Border Protection release states that “Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents have rescued over 500 migrants attempting to illegally enter the country” since the beginning of the Fiscal Year 2021, October 1st.
The surge of migrants at the border has created a crisis for the Biden administration, with many people focusing specifically on the influx of children and unaccompanied minors attempting to enter the country.
As Neon Nettle previously reported, an internal leaked document from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed that nearly 1,000 child migrants have been kept in border detention facilities for longer than 10 days.
The period is far longer than the 72-hour maximum amount of time children are supposed to be housed in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody.
The crisis, however, has gone largely under the radar in the mainstream press until recently-leaked images.
Here are babies handed over by smugglers. Babies. pic.twitter.com/bECBwBvwvd
— Senator Thom Tillis (@SenThomTillis) March 26, 2021
Joe Biden's administration has reportedly put what’s effectively a “gag order” on Border Patrol agents with the media, according to sources.
The Biden admin has denied the “gag order” reports.
