US decries 'dangerous' obstruction in Texas migrant drownings

The Biden administration has denounced what it said was "dangerous" obstruction by Texas authorities after three migrants drowned while attempting to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico in disputed circumstances.

"On Friday night, a woman and two children drowned near Eagle Pass, and Texas officials blocked US Border Patrol from attempting to provide emergency assistance," said a statement from White House spokesperson Angelo Fernandez Hernandez on Sunday.

It continued: "While we continue to gather facts about the circumstances of these tragic deaths, one thing is clear: Governor Abbott's political stunts are cruel, inhumane, and dangerous. US Border Patrol must have access to the border to enforce our laws."

The Texas Military Department pushed back later, describing the accusation that TMD officers prevented federal agents from saving lives as "wholly inaccurate."

The White House has been locked in a legal struggle with Republican Governor Greg Abbott, a vocal supporter of Donald Trump and a fierce critic of the Biden administration's migration policies.

The US Justice Department has accused the governor of blocking federal agents from carrying out their traditional duties in policing a key section of the border, while Abbott says the federal government has failed in its responsibility to stem a record influx of migrants.

Abbott has supported tough border measures including the installation of barbed wire along the border and floating obstacles in the Rio Grande.

Henry Cuellar, a congressional Democrat from Texas, on Saturday also accused the state's National Guard — which this week took exclusive control over a key border sector — of refusing to "grant access to Border Patrol agents to save the migrants".

"This is a tragedy, and the State bears responsibility," Cuellar added in a statement.

TMD's side of the story

The TMD, which oversees the Texas National Guard, offered a substantially different version of the events on Friday.

It confirmed that Border Patrol officials contacted its Friday night "in reference to a migrant distress situation," adding that one of its units "actively searched the river with lights and night vision goggles" but found no migrants in distress, and no bodies.

On Sunday after reviewing the circumstances of the fatalities, TMD vehemently denied the White House accusations and said the incident largely took place on the Mexican side of the river.

"Claims that TMD prevented Border Patrol from saving the lives of drowning migrants are wholly inaccurate," it said in a statement.

"At the time that Border Patrol requested access, the drownings had occurred, Mexican Authorities were recovering the bodies, and Border Patrol expressed these facts to the TMD personnel on site."

In December, a federal appeals court blocked Border Patrol from removing or dismantling barbed wire installed by Texas near Eagle Pass, except in the case of emergencies.

The Justice Department has appealed that ruling to the US Supreme Court.

This week, the Texas National Guard began installing new barriers that have prevented federal border police from gaining access to a key 3.7-kilometre (2.5-mile) border section, according to a filing by US Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar.

In a response to the case before the Supreme Court, Texas officials acknowledged having taken control of a city park in Eagle Pass "for law-enforcement and disaster-relief purposes."