Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is under fire after Democrats in his state called him out for installing “chainsaw-type” devices on buoys in the Rio Grande river, which separates the U.S.-Mexico border.
Videos posted by Democrat Reps. Joaquin Castro and Sylvia Garcia show a close up look at the floating barriers, which were dubbed “barbaric” by Castro.
Videos by VICE
Since the barriers were installed in July as a way to ward off migrants, two people have died in or near the buoys, Mexican authorities said. One migrant was found dead after getting trapped in the buoys, while another body was located floating three miles upriver.
The U.S. Justice Department is also suing Abbott for blocking waterways.
“The situation’s reality is unsettling as these buoys’ true danger and brutality come to light. We must stop this NOW!,” Garcia wrote on social media.
Garcia’s video has been seen over ten million times. Abbott has not made any public statements about it.
Last September, Abbott sent over 100 migrants, including children, from Texas on a bus to Kamala Harris’s residence in Washington D.C. in protest over President Joe Biden’s border policies.
This June, he sent 42 more migrants from his state to California.
Abbott has been widely criticized for using migrants as political pawns, with the White House previously calling the tactic a “cruel, dangerous, and shameful stunt.”
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