The number of migrants found dead in a stifling trailer in Texas rose to 53 on Wednesday, after two more people died in San Antonio hospitals, according to the local medical examiner’s office.
“The tragic loss of life in San Antonio, Texas… is horrifying and heartbreaking. Our prayers are with those who lost their lives, their loved ones, as well as those still fighting for their lives,” President Biden said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott pointed fingers at President Biden.
“President Biden was warned in advance that reduced border enforcement would lead to dire consequences,” he said. “Border Patrol does not have the resources to be able to inspect all of the trucks and as a result, the Border Patrol did not have the capability of saving those lives.”
But Biden denounced what he called “political grandstanding,” and his allies in Congress agreed.
Texas Democratic Representative Sylvia García says it is the Texas governor who has failed at the southern border.
“He [Governor Abott] has put together a border plan and has spent billions of dollars on the border but obviously, something’s gone wrong,” she said.
The Supreme Court is expected to decide on Thursday whether the Biden administration must enforce a Trump-era policy commonly known as “Remain in Mexico,” which requires some asylum seekers who arrive by land at the southern border to be returned to Mexico while their cases are heard.
