Two bodies found in Rio Grande as migrant crossings rise

Eagle Pass declared a state of emergency earlier this week because of rising migrant figures

The bodies of two migrants were recovered from the Rio Grande separating the US and Mexico this week, including a three-year-old child.

Migrant arrivals at the US southern border have spiked to near-record numbers in September, putting a strain on local resources.

The child is believed to have drowned after being swept away while crossing the river.

Hundreds of migrants die each year while attempting the crossing.

According to a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson quoted by CBS, the BBC's US partner, the body of the three-year-old was recovered near the town of Eagle Pass on Wednesday. He was traveling with his family and was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

The following morning, Texas state troopers located another body submerged in the river in the same area.

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Both bodies were discovered to the north of a controversial string of border buoys set up to deter migrant crossings near Eagle Pass.

The barrier has been the focus of intense legal wrangling, and a federal judge ruled earlier this month that they be moved by 15 September.

Texas filed an immediate legal challenge which was upheld and allowed the buoys to remain in place.

Across the length of the nearly 2,000-mile (3,218km) US-Mexico border, migrant apprehensions have risen to near-record levels this month, posing a significant challenge to US President Joe Biden's efforts to plan to handle immigration.

Internal Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) data obtained by CBS shows that 140,000 migrants were detained at the border in the first 20 days of September, an average of about 6,900 per day. In July, the daily average stood at 4,300.

About 9,000 migrants were processed on Wednesday alone, the highest daily figure seen since May just before the US moved to end Title 42, a Trump-era policy that allowed for the rapid expulsion of many migrants.

The figures suggest that the CBP is likely to reach 210,000 migrant apprehensions by the end of the month, the highest since the 222,000 recorded in December 2022.

In Eagle Pass - a small town with a population of about 30,000 - officials this week declared a one-week state of emergency to allow it to request additional resources to respond to the influx of migrants.

In both Eagle Pass and El Paso, officials were also forced to briefly suspend commercial vehicle traffic at international bridges so that personnel could be diverted to process migrants.

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The issue has also become increasingly politically contentious, with the Biden administration coming under intense criticism from Republicans and some Democrats for its handling of the southern border.

Earlier this week, the administration announced that an additional 800 active-duty military personnel would be sent to bolster 2,500 troops already deployed there to help perform operational tasks.