The death of at least nine migrants in the Rio Grande River as they tried to cross the US-Mexico border marks the latest tragedy to highlight the dangers facing those seeking to enter the United States illegally. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced Saturday that the death toll in the incident had risen to nine. The bodies of eight migrants were found Thursday after Border Patrol in the Del Rio Sector responded to reports of a large group of people. A further 53 migrants were arrested, 37 of whom were rescued as they tried to cross the river. Two of the dead were found by Mexican authorities and six more by U.S. agents, CBP said Friday. Across the river, Mexican authorities detained another 39 people. 9 IMMIGRANTS FOUND DEAD AT TEXAS BORDER, 53 ARRESTED TRYING TO CROSS RIO GRANDE Migrants cross the Texas border on July 13. Eight migrants were found dead Thursday and 53 others were taken into custody as they tried to cross the Rio Grande in Texas, authorities said. (Fox News) The Del Rio sector has seen an increase in migrant traffic in recent years and has become a major border crossing point. It was the site of the Haitian migrant crisis a year ago, where more than 10,000 Haitians crossed the river and camped under the International Bridge. Agents have discovered the bodies of more than 200 immigrants in the sector this fiscal year, CBP said last month. The border as a whole has seen a huge increase in immigration encounters, with the Border Patrol conducting more than 200,000 encounters a month. This is in addition to the more than 500,000 who have escaped agents this financial year. But as large numbers of migrants head to the border, often to try to enter illegally between ports of entry, migrants are putting themselves at great risk — placing themselves in the hands of transnational criminal organizations to drive them into the U.S. and cross extreme heat, aggressive waters and dangerous terrain on their journey north. The dangers of the border were highlighted in June when 53 migrants died in a tractor-trailer in Texas. The migrants were found in the abandoned vehicle, which authorities believe was part of a people-smuggling operation. Last month, two children died in separate drowning incidents while trying to cross the Rio Grande. One, a five-year-old girl from Guatemala, was swept from her mother’s arms by the raging waters, the New York Post reported. The New York Times reported that the Eagle Pass fire chief said this week that drownings have become a daily occurrence along that stretch of the border. Meanwhile, the Border Patrol conducted 18,897 rescues this year compared to 12,833 in FY21 and just over 5,000 in FY20. Last week, Border Patrol agents rescued a four-month-old and an 18-month-old who had been abandoned in the heat of the Arizona desert — an incident officials used to highlight the cruelty and “heartlessness” of human traffickers. Republicans have accused the Biden administration of encouraging more immigration by ending Trump-era border protections and allowing more immigrants to be processed and released into the US. their immigration hearings, rather than being released to the US. The administration also halted construction of a border wall, sought to end deportations under the public health order Title 42, and reduced priorities for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). BORDER PATROL RESCUE 4-MONTH-OLD, 18-MONTH-OLD Abandoned by Smugglers in DESERT “Biden’s immigration policies have emboldened smugglers, led to record levels of immigrant deaths and jeopardized the safety of law enforcement and the Border Patrol,” Rep. Tony Gonzalez, R-Texas, said in a tweet this week before the announcements. recent deaths. . “Nobody can make more out of this mess than the cartels.” The Biden administration, meanwhile, has accused the Trump administration of closing legal asylum pathways while in office and said it is trying to restore those pathways — while finding ways for immigrants to seek asylum without falling into the hands of smugglers and a perilous journey north. The administration has launched a smuggling and human trafficking task force and recently launched an anti-smuggling operation that it said has resulted in more than 3,000 arrests. Meanwhile, it has focused its efforts on targeting what it calls the “root causes” of migration — including violence, corruption and poverty in Central America. The government has touted its efforts to mobilize humanitarian support — including investing hundreds of millions of dollars — to address humanitarian needs in the Northern Triangle. Vice President Kamala Harris promoted a “Call to Action” that led to more than $3 billion in private sector investment in the region. “When I started working on the root causes of migration from northern Central America, I approached the project with a few basic principles: one, my belief — I think our shared belief — that people don’t want to leave home,” he said. Harris. in June at the Summit of the Americas. “And when they do, it’s usually for one of two reasons: they’re running away from harm, or they can’t meet the basic needs of themselves or their family.” The administration has also created immigration resource centers to provide referrals to those seeking legal asylum pathways, is expanding refugee processing in the region and increasing temporary work visas, as well as restarting the Central American Minors (CAM) program. In June, at the Los Angeles-based Summit, President Biden announced an immigration deal with other Western Hemisphere leaders that he said “transforms” the approach to the issue. “We know that safe, orderly and legal immigration is good for all of our economies. But we must stop dangerous and illegal immigration and dangerous ways,” he said. With that pact came more commitments to temporary visas and humanitarian funding for the region through the US Agency for International Development. Mexico also announced that it is expanding its immigration programs and launching a new temporary work program. But nearly two years into the Biden administration, the immigration crisis has worsened dramatically since Biden took office, with encounters already surpassing 2 million for this fiscal year, compared to more than 1.7 million last fiscal year and 646,822 in fiscal year 2020. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Management has stressed that their approach does not guarantee results will occur “overnight”. “But none of this is going to be just flipping a switch. It requires focus, it requires intention, it requires investment over a period of time, which means, in short, you’re not going to see the benefit of it overnight — because the problems they didn’t appear overnight,” Harris said in February. Louis Casiano of Fox News contributed to this report. Adam Shaw is a political reporter for Fox News Digital, focusing on immigration. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AdamShawNY
