Miscarrying 19-year-old migrant ensnared in border trap proves 'inhumane treatment': report

18 July 2023

Last month, a teenage young woman was discovered by police at the Texas-Mexico border wrapped in wire — and in the middle of a miscarriage — Jezebel reports.

Per Jezebel, "Razor wire and physical barriers are preventing law enforcement at the border from reaching people in distress," though, "the increase physical barriers are a part of the Operation Lone Star push by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R)."

Just "one of four injurious incidents in a single day," the 19-year-old was found "in obvious pain," according to an email "sent from a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper to a sergeant that alleges repeated inhumane treatment of migrants in the state."

According to Jezebel, "Abbott's press secretary Andrew Mahaleris blamed this all on President Joe Biden" claiming "President Biden has unleashed a chaos on the border that's unsustainable, and we have a constitutional duty to respond to this unprecedented crisis."

In May, U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), who was censured by his GOP colleagues earlier this year, criticized House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for his "demonization of migrants at the border," Rolling Stone reports.

The GOP lawmaker traveled to the border with McCarthy "where he captured videos depicting the crowded and inhumane conditions in immigration facilities."

The publication reports:

The attempted 'demonization' of undocumented immigrants that Gonzales called out is common in the GOP and has only heightened xenophobic sentiment in the country as the party attempts to link immigration with violent crime, which makes Gonzales a rare standout.

Jezebel notes:

DPS Director Steven McCraw called for an audit in an email on Saturday, asking if risks can be minimized to people walking through a river to get to safety. 'The purpose of the wire is to deter smuggling between the ports of entry and not to injure migrants,' McCraw wrote. 'The smugglers care not if the migrants are injured, but we do, and we must take all necessary measures to mitigate the risk to them including injuries from trying to cross over the concertina wire, drownings and dehydration.'

Still, according to the report, "The trooper's email said razor wire-wrapped barrels have been placed into the Rio Grande in areas with low visibility, leading to injuries like the woman's."

Per Jezebel, Hearst Newspapers' Benjamin Wermund reports the trooper said, "Due to the extreme heat, the order to not give people water needs to be immediately reversed as well. I believe we have stepped over a line into the inhumane."

Jezebel's full report is available at this link.

From Your Site Articles