3-year-old boy found dead in Rio Grande renews worry, anger over US-Mexico border crossings

The bodies of two people, including a 3-year-old child, were recovered from the Rio Grande along the Texas-Mexico border this week, as the state comes under fire for dangerous barriers erected in the international waterway to deter migrant crossings.

Deaths along the state's border with Mexico have become a recurrent tragedy, including several young children as they attempt to cross the border or during transport by U.S. officials.

On Wednesday, Texas officials found the body of 3-year-old boy in the Rio Grande near the border town of Eagle Pass after receiving reports of a child being "swept away" by currents, the Texas Department of Public Safety told CBS News. The boy, who officials say was traveling with family, was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Another body was found the following day in the same river. Both were discovered north of the buoys installed in July as part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s controversial border control program Operation Lone Star.

“Another senseless tragedy due to the Federal Government’s absence in discouraging unlawful border crossings between the ports of entry & lack of implementing preventive measures,” Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Chris Olivarez said regarding the toddler’s drowning on X, formerly Twitter. “#Texas will continue to enhance border security & deterrent measures with boots on the ground, infrastructure, & enforcing state law.”

The Texas agency did not immediately provide comment Friday evening.

Dangerous barriers installed – unlawful crossings on the rise

The buoy barrier is designed as a total blockade, as it is fastened to the river bottom with nets below the water to prevent people from swimming underneath them, and the orange balls rotate so people can’t climb over. Critics have said the buoys make dangerous crossings even more unsafe.

In August, two bodies were recovered from the Rio Grande, one of which was found stuck on the buoys, according to Mexico's foreign affairs secretary. That was the first time a body had been found along the floating barrier.

Abbott is facing a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department that claims the buoy installations are an attempt to usurp federal control of national borders. 

Earlier this year, USA TODAY documented how migrants, many of them children, were snared by razor wire and left with gashes and slice wounds. An internal email from a Texas state trooper, revealed in July, raised the alarm that the state's efforts had become "inhumane."

Despite the controversial installations, the border continues to see large swaths of people every day, and in rising numbers, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures released Thursday by Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador.

Migrants were stopped at the border 142,037 times during the first 17 days of September, up 15% from the same period last month. The figures include up to 1,450 people admitted daily for asylum appointments. However, the vast majority are illegal entries.

More deaths at Texas-Mexico border

Last month, a 3-year-old girl from Venezuela died after Texas authorities put her and her family on a bus to Chicago. Officials previously said none of the passengers exhibited a fever or medical concerns. An autopsy report later revealed the girl had a low-grade fever and other symptoms before boarding the bus, raising questions about medical screenings for state-sponsored bus transports.

In May, an 8-year-old girl died after a "medical emergency" while she and her family were in U.S. Border Patrol custody in Texas, according to officials. The girl’s mother said authorities ignored the family’s repeated pleas to hospitalize the girl, who had existing health problems and was experiencing pain and difficulty breathing.

The week before the girl’s death, a 17-year-old unaccompanied Honduran migrant died in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' custody after being found unconscious at a shelter in Safety Harbor, Florida, according to Honduran officials.

Contributing: The Associated Press