Texas Department of Public Safety officials informed Monday that, since Saturday, four people, including an infant, have drowned trying to cross the Rio Grande on the U.S.-Mexico border near Eagle Pass, in Texas, The Hill reports.
According to Lt. Chris Olivarez, spokesperson for the department, the baby girl and a woman were pulled from the river on Saturday, while the two other men were found drowned one each Sunday and Monday.
Olivarez tweeted that none of the four drowned people carried identifying documents, so their identities are unknown.
The state of Texas announced last month plans to place floating buoys intended to discourage people from crossing the border illegally by making it impossible to swim across the river from Mexico to the US in the section of the river near Eagle Pass.
Per Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office, this strategy- the latest in Abbott’s attempts to stop undocumented immigrants from coming to Texas – should proactively prevent illegal crossings between ports of entry on the southern border.
Called the center of gravity for smuggling by Texas DPS Chief Steven McCraw, Eagle Pass, where nine people drowned while attempting to cross the Rio Grande last fall, is the first section of the river to receive buoys.
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