Firefighters rescue the body of a migrant who drowned crossing the Rio Grande in Brownsville

Jan 05, 2024

The Border Center for Journalists and Bloggers (BCJB) summarizes and analyzes the main news on the border on January 5, 2024.

Mexican firefighters rescue one of the two migrants who drowned on December 21 while crossing the river bordering the United States

Screenshot of a video. Credit: Edyra Espriella / Border Center

Mexican firefighters from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, rescue the body of one of the two migrants who drowned on December 21 in the vicinity of a place known as La Cruz del Migrante on the Rio Grande, border with Brownsville, Texas. The immigrants, one of Venezuelan origin and another of Haitian origin died trying to swim across a swampy part of the river. Another young migrant and a child, also Venezuelans, managed to save their lives. The bodies of the victims were there until yesterday, January 4, when United States authorities decided to cut the barbed fence that Texas officials placed in an attempt to control the immigration of undocumented people.

Meanwhile, the conflict between the Texas government and other authorities in the United States continues to develop. Yesterday, the New York City government sued several trucking companies for taking migrants from Texas and abandoning them in New York, at the request of the Texas government, headed by Governor Greg Abbot. Republican congressmen are putting pressure on Joe Biden's government to increase deportations and reduce asylum for migrants who have managed to cross the border with Mexico in exchange for accepting the aid package for Ukraine.

Watch the video here:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1743016934612906195

Mexican soldiers rescue 18 migrants kidnapped by gunmen. Here's what happened

Mexican soldiers and Sonora state police rescued 18 migrants in Santa Ana, Sonora, near the border with Nogales, Arizona. Foto: Sonora Attorney General.

Mexican soldiers and Sonora state investigators rescued 18 migrants, including nationals from Brazil, Guatemala, El Salvador, Ecuador, Ethiopia, and India, from a motel near Santa Ana, Sonora, where gunmen held them. Of the 20 migrants found, 18 reported being kidnapped. The group, traveling on buses or visiting a restaurant, were forcibly taken by armed men. Most were handed over to Mexico's immigration agency, while six filed reports at a prosecutor's office in Magdalena. The duration of their kidnapping remains unclear.