Courtesy Photo / Office of the Governor
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Department of Public Safety both deny the allegations made in the Hearst News report, saying that no orders have been given that would "compromise the lives of those attempting to cross the border illegally."
"The department is aware of the troubling reports, and we are actively working with [the Department of Homeland Security] and other relevant agencies to assess the situation," Xochitl Hinojosa, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department, told the daily.
Word of the probe comes following a Hearst Newspapers report that a Texas Department of Public Safety agent alleged that troopers deployed along the Rio Grande as part of Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star were instructed to push migrants injured by barbed wire back into the river. One of those pushed into the river was a 19-year-old pregnant woman having a miscarriage, the agent said.
The agent also said that officials were instructed not to provide migrants with drinking water, even in the extreme Texas heat, according to Hearst's reporting.
Other agencies, including the U.S. State Department, have also launched inquiries into Abbott's controversial $4.4 billion border crackdown. Specifically, the State Department told the Express-News on Tuesday that Texas hasn't responded to requests for information about a floating buoy barrier Abbott ordered installed along the Rio Grande earlier this month.
Eagle Pass landowner Hugo Urbina also said he witnessed razor wire attached to the buoys injure several migrants, the Express-News also reported.
Texas Democrats including San Antonio Congressman Joaquin Castro expressed outrage following Hearst's report and asked federal officials to launch an investigation. Houston Congressman Al Green suggested that articles of impeachment should be filed against Abbott if allegations in Heart's report are proven to be true.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said during a Wednesday press conference that he will no longer meet with Abbott.
"We are going to keep condemning all the anti-immigrant and anti-Mexican politicians," Lopez Obrador said, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Abbott and DPS have both emphatically denied the mistreatment of migrants along the border. In a statement, the governor's office said "no orders or directions have been given under Operation Lone Star that would compromise the lives of those attempting to cross the border illegally."
The Republican governor's statement also argued for the necessity of the buoys and barbed wire, adding, "the absence of these tools and strategies — including concertina wire that snags clothing — encourages migrants to make potentially life-threatening and illegal crossings."
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