Federal government is challenging Texas’s buoys in the Rio Grande – here’s why these kinds of border blockades wind up complicating immigration enforcement
The ConversationJUL 2023
Two Bodies Found in Rio Grande
Image copyright: US Customs and Border Protection [via Wikimedia Commons]
The Spin
Democratic narrative
This kind of tragedy has been waiting to happen ever since Republican Texas Gov. Abbott launched his cruel border policies based on setting death traps to try to stop asylum seekers from entering the US. The buoy barrier isn't only an ineffective measure but also a grave violation of human rights, so the federal government must take action against it.
Republican narrative
The Mexican government is outrageously attempting to pin the blame on Texas for a tragedy that's independent of the state's floating border. In reality, drownings in the Rio Grande by people seeking to enter the US illegally are sadly all too common due to Biden and López Obrador recklessly pushing for open-border policies instead of securing the border.