Eight migrants drowned in US-Mexico river

(dpa)

At least eight migrants have drowned in the border river between the United States and Mexico, according to media reports. Another 37 migrants were rescued from the Rio Grande (called Río Bravo in Mexico), as reported by the American newspapers “New York Times” and “Washington Post” on Friday (local time), citing local officials. According to this, a large group of migrants tried to cross the river, which had high levels and a strong current after heavy rain, near the Texas border town of Eagle Pass to the American side.

In total, border patrol officers reportedly apprehended 53 members of the migrant group on Thursday on the American side of the Rio Grande, including those who had been rescued. Mexican officials picked up 39 other migrants from the group. Initially, there was no personal information about the migrants.

The number of illegal border crossings from Mexico to the USA has been at a very high level in recent months. Court decisions in the USA have so far prevented President Joe Biden’s government from being able to lift restrictive border regulations from the tenure of his predecessor Donald Trump. For example, due to the pandemic, many undocumented migrants are immediately turned away at the border without being able to apply for asylum. There have already been numerous deaths in the border river this year, as reported by the American media, citing the border protection agency CBP.

Among other things, the lack of legal entry options means that many migrants – especially from Mexico and Central America – dare dangerous border crossings. In June, 53 dead migrants believed to have been smuggled to the United States were found in a truck trailer parked in the sweltering heat of Texas, near the Mexican border.