Texas officials deny reports of abuse at border as Justice Dept. works to "assess the situation"

The Justice Department (DOJ) said it will assess the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border after receiving “troubling” reports of abusive behavior of authorities towards migrants. 

“The department is aware of the troubling reports, and we are working with DHS and other relevant agencies to assess the situation,” DOJ spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa told CNN.

In one such account, a Texas Trooper said they had been ordered to push undocumented migrants into the Rio Grande River “to go back to Mexico” and refrain from giving them water in Eagle Pass, Texas. The group of migrants included 120 individuals, including young children and nursing babies, the Houston Chronicle first reported. 

Texas officials however, say they have not received any orders have been given that “would compromise the lives of those attempting to cross the border illegally,” according to a joint statement issued by Texas Border Czar Mike Banks, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). The statement was also joined by Director Steve McCraw, and Texas Adjutant General Major General Thomas Suelzer.

“All personnel assigned to Operation Lone Star are prepared to detect and respond to any individuals who may need water or medical attention. Operation Lone Star agency partners use verbal warnings and signage to direct migrants attempting to illegally cross from Mexico into Texas to use ports of entry to protect the lives of migrants, DPS troopers, and Texas National Guard soldiers,” the statement continued. 

The inspector general for the Texas Department of Public Safety has received several additional complaints about the death of several migrants at the border.

In several accounts, migrants have needed medical assistance, ranging from cuts to drownings. One account included a 19-year-old woman who was trapped in razor wire and had a miscarriage. In another instance, a four-year-old girl was “pressed back” into razor wire by Texas National guard soldiers. 

DPS Director Steven McCraw called for an audit to see whether something could be done to reduce the risk that migrants are facing at the border. 

“The purpose of the wire is to deter smuggling between the ports of entry and not to injure migrants. 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,” he said. 

The complaints come as Texas is installing 1,000 feet of the new barrier near the city of Eagle Pass, across from the Mexican town of Piedras Negras, to prevent undocumented migrants from attempting to swim across the river and cross the border.

The barrier is made up of four-foot-wide buoys that are equipped with weights and netting anchored to the river bed and are designed to rotate if someone attempts to climb over them.