Democrats ‘Forgot to Get the Facts’ Over Texas Illegal Immigrant Drownings, Abbott Says

Texas Military Department disputes allegations by Democrats and the White House

National Guard soldiers stand guard on the banks of the Rio Grande river at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Jan. 12, 2024. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) said on Monday that Democrats “forgot to get the facts” before accusing Texas authorities of preventing Border Patrol from rescuing drowning illegal immigrants in the Rio Grande.

Contrary to allegations leveled by a Democrat Congress member and the Biden administration, the Texas Military Department (TMD) asserted on Jan. 14 that the bodies of one adult woman and two children had already been recovered from the river by Mexican authorities before Border Patrol agents requested access to a fenced-off 2.5-mile stretch of the southern border in Eagle Pass on Jan. 12.