Surgeon Revelation Revelations have emerged that state authorities have issued inhumane orders to deter smugglers along the Rio Grande River border in Texas.
According to CNN broadcast on the 18th, a military surgeon with the Rio Grande River Guard said in an email to the state Department of Public Safety (DPS) that “people have been instructed to push them back into the water to go to Mexico.” Lee said he was also ordered not to give drinking water to undocumented migrants.
This e-mail is a report of incidents and concerns that occurred during the week from the 24th of last month to the 1st of this month, when the officer served as a military surgeon. There is a reported case of a 4-year-old girl who fainted in the 100-degree Fahrenheit (38-degree Celsius) heat after Texas National Guard agents pushed a group of smugglers toward Mexico.
Another man sustained severe lacerations to his leg while trying to rescue his child from being caught in sharp barbed wire attached to a buoy in the river. “I believe we have crossed the line in terms of humanitarianism,” said Surgeon Lee. “We need to operate properly in the eyes of God.” He also said about the barbed wire on the buoy, “The barbed wire in the river is not very visible and it just becomes a trap for people, so it should be removed.”
Texas DPS spokesman Travis Considine told CNN that they are investigating a military surgeon’s report that there were orders to push the migrants into the river. However, on his social media on the 17th, Considine revealed the contents of an internal message from the Texas DPS, saying, “The State Guard gives water to immigrants, treats their wounds, and rescues them from drowning.” According to Texas DPS Commissioner Stephen McCraw, “Smugglers don’t care if migrants are hurt or not, but we are different.” We must do everything necessary to make this happen,” he said.
The State of Texas has been implementing a policy of strengthening border security, such as installing an underwater barrier connecting 1,000 feet (304.8m) of buoys on the banks of Eagle Pass, a border city, from the 8th to prevent smuggling through the Rio Grande River.
A lawsuit was filed by a canoe and kayak company over the installation of buoys, which was publicly criticized by Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador.