Concerns Raised About Inhumane Treatment of Migrants at Texas-Mexico Border
An officer working at Texas’ southern border with Mexico emailed his superior expressing deep concerns that efforts to prevent migrants from crossing into the U.S. had “stepped over a line into the inhumane” earlier this month, according to a shocking account published by the San Antonio Express-News.
Troubling Orders to Prevent Asylum Seekers from Crossing the Rio Grande
The unnamed trooper, who works for Texas’ Department of Public Safety, described troubling orders to prevent asylum seekers from crossing the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, in recent months. State officials have drawn sharp criticism after deploying miles of floating barricades covered in razor wire on the river, an initiative the officer likened to “traps” meant to snare migrants.
The email details multiple troubling incidents in which migrants were caught or injured by the razor wire.
In one instance, a 19-year-old woman “in obvious pain” was found stuck in the wire before she was cut free. Medical officials determined she was pregnant and having a miscarriage. At another point, troopers treated a man with a “significant laceration” on his leg that he sustained while trying to free his child from a “trap in the water” covered in razor wire.
Reports of Pushing Children into the Rio Grande and Denying Water to Migrants
The email also details a moment on June 25 when a shift officer ordered troopers to push a large group of people — including small children and babies that were nursing — back into the Rio Grande “to go to Mexico.” Troopers on site resisted the order after they expressed concern the exhausted migrants could drown, and they were later ordered to tell the group to go back to Mexico before leaving the site.
The trooper also alluded to an order to prevent officers from providing water to migrants, although Texas officials have denied any such mandate exists.
“Due to the extreme heat, the order to not give people water needs to be immediately reversed as well,” the trooper wrote, suggesting a series of policy changes to protect migrants’ safety. The officer later added: “I believe we have stepped over a line into the inhumane.”
Response from Texas Department of Public Safety
Travis Considine, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety, told the Express-News that the agency was aware of the email and that its director, Steven McCraw, called for an audit last Saturday into lowering risk for migrants. McCraw also sent another email to troopers saying the wire, a key feature of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) border measures, was meant to deter smuggling, “not to injure migrants.”
“The smugglers care not if the migrants are injured, but we do, and we must take all necessary measures to mitigate the risk to them including injuries from trying to cross over the concertina wire, drownings and dehydration,” the message said.
Controversy and Condemnation
Abbott has taken dramatic steps to prevent migrants from crossing the state’s border with Mexico, lambasting President Joe Biden for failing to do enough to stop a surge of crossings. The governor also has dropped off thousands of migrants in cities across the nation, mainly in states led by Democratic officials, in an act that human rights groups have blasted as inhumane.
The report brought swift condemnation from Democrats. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) called the razor wire barriers “death traps” on Twitter, saying he had urged the Biden administration to intervene “for the sake of human rights.”
As the issue continues to unfold, it remains crucial to address the treatment of migrants and ensure their safety and well-being.
