Texas DPS notified the Mexican Consulate in Eagle Pass about the body on Wednesday afternoon, officials say.
EAGLE PASS, Texas — Government officials in Mexico are reporting that a person’s “lifeless” body was found “stuck” in the orange buoys that were placed in the Rio Grande by Texas to deter migrants from crossing over the southern border.
In a news release, Mexico’s secretary of foreign affairs said officials were informed that the Texas Department of Public Safety notified the Mexican Consulate in Eagle Pass about the body at about 2:35 p.m. Wednesday.
Crews were working to recover the body as the cause of death and person’s nationality remain unknown.
The Mexican agency said it will continue to follow up on the case.
While it remains unclear if the buoys are to blame for the death, Texas has been under fire for the installation of the floating barrier as the state continues to address migrants entering the U.S. from Mexico illegally.
A lawsuit was filed in late July by the Justice Department, claiming the state did not have permission from the cities of Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Mexico, to install the barrier. The lawsuit seeks to have the state remove the buoys.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott defended the floating barrier, saying “the U.S. Constitution grants Texas sovereign authority to protect its borders…”
In its statement about the body that was found, Mexico’s secretary of foreign affairs also denounced the buoys.
“We reiterate the position of the Government of Mexico that the placement of barbed wire buoys by the Texas authorities is a violation of our sovereignty,” the agency said. “We express our concern about the impact on the human rights and personal safety of migrants that these state policies will have, which go in the opposite direction to the close collaboration between our country and the federal government of the United States.”
WFAA has reached out to Texas DPS for comment but has not yet heard back.