The allegations of abuse against immigrants by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) have caused outrage in sectors that watch over the well-being of immigrants, as well as a state investigation.
The controversial information is part of a series of conversations contained in emails that have been leaked to the media where orders were allegedly given to push immigrants into the Rio Grande and to deny them humanitarian assistance.
In the communication, the DPS officer mentions in an email obtained by Telemundo 40 news that their superiors ordered them to push the immigrants back into the river and that they were denied water. This has prompted a state investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The officer also reported that barbed wire deployed by Texas soldiers has injured several people, including a woman who miscarried while entangled in the wire. This has sparked outrage among border communities as well as activist groups.
“I don’t know at what point in the state we reached this point that our Governor finds it very easy for us to push children into the river and not give water to people who come across when it’s so hot outside. I don’t know at what point as a state we care more about preventing it from happening or saving people’s lives…”, questioned Dani Marrero, deputy director of LUPE in the Rio Grande Valley.
The DPS agent, who works as a medic, sent the email to a sergeant on July 3 detailing some of the things he witnessed while on patrol in the City of Eagle Pass, where Gov. Greg Abbott recently ordered the deployment of buoys in the Rio Grande to prevent immigrants from crossing.
However, in a statement, Governor Abbott’s office wrote that “Texas is deploying all the tools and strategies to deter illegal crossings at ports of entry as President Biden’s dangerous open border policies entice immigrants from more than 150 countries to risk their lives to enter the country illegally. The lack of barbed wire and other deterrent strategies encourages immigrants to make unsafe crossings while making the job of soldiers difficult.” of the most dangerous and difficult Texas National Guard and DPS. President Biden has unleashed unsustainable chaos at the border and we have a constitutional duty to respond to this unprecedented crisis.”
The Texas legislature has appropriated nearly $10 billion for Governor Abbott’s border security efforts, including the construction of border walls.
