(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A recently released video has captured the Texas National Guard rescuing what appeared to be a woman and a child attempting to cross the Rio Grande. This contradicts claims from some Democrats that the state guards are not aiding in the rescue of in-need illegal aliens.
The video, captured by Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, shows a johnboat carrying the woman, a child and two state guards bringing the mother to the shore in Shelby Park of Eagle Pass, Texas.
🚨Shelby Park, Eagle Pass TX.
My team and I witnessed firsthand the Texas National Guard rescuing a woman and her child from the Rio Grande. pic.twitter.com/Na4wPLlExq
— Keith Self (@SelfForCongress) February 3, 2024
“My team and I witnessed firsthand the Texas National Guard rescuing a woman and her child from the Rio Grande,” Self declared on Twitter. He was at the southern border to survey the section seized by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
A guard is seen taking the child off the boat and handing her to a female guard. Two other guards assist the visibly distraught adult woman, whose clothes appear soaking wet, and she seems to be limping.
The video directly contradicts claims by some Democrats who falsely implied that a mother and her two children died because Abbott blocked the Biden administration’s access to some parts of the southern border. Texas restricted access, implying the federal government is just facilitating unauthorized border crossings rather than deterring them.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, was one of the leading Democrats blaming Abbott for the death of the mother and her two children.
“Border Patrol personnel were forced out of Shelby Park earlier this week by the Texas National Guard under order of Governor Abbott,” Cuellar claimed in a press statement..
“In this situation, the Texas Military Department and the Texas National Guard did not grant access to Border Patrol agents to save the migrants. This is a tragedy, and the State bears responsibility,” Cuellar added.
However, the federal government itself told the Supreme Court in a lawsuit over control of the border that deaths had already occurred when it requested access to the part of the border.
“It is impossible to say what might have happened if Border Patrol had had its former access to the area – including through its surveillance trucks that assisted in monitoring the area,” U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote in the Supreme Court filing.
The Texas Military Department promptly dispelled Cuellar’s claims. “At no time did TMD security personnel along the river observe any distressed migrants, nor did TMD turn back any illegal immigrants from the US during this period,” the statement said.
“Also, at no point was TMD made aware of any bodies in the area of Shelby Park, nor was TMD made aware of any bodies being discovered on the U.S. side of the border regarding this situation,” the statement continued.
