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The fire department chief of a small Texas border county sees no end in sight for his weary team of first responders who every day recover migrant children and adults from the Rio Grande.

Manuel Mello III leads the Eagle Pass Fire Department in south-central Texas, an area that has become a top location for illegal migration nationwide. As more migrants attempt to cross the river as their final step in a long journey to the United States, many do not make it.

Two years ago, we would probably make in a year's time about 20 to 25 drownings, Mello told the Washington Examiner in a phone call Friday. Right now, you're looking at maybe 30 body recoveries in a month.

Mellos team is not only responsible for responding to fire emergencies in the 75,000-resident Maverick County; they also handle all emergency medical services and have the only swift water rescue in the region. Not only is his staff working overtime at a rate they have never hit before and trying to manage with just four ambulances to respond to calls they are struggling with the reality of pulling babies and children from the water.

'FLAT-OUT LYING': ABBOTT TEAM DENIES MIGRANTS MUST SIGN NDAS TO BOARD BUSES

Dario Lopez-Mills/AP

The Border Patrol operates boats in the Rio Grande and will rescue migrants, but agents will not pull deceased migrants from the river, leaving it to the fire department to recover those who drowned. Sometimes, Mexican officials will call Mello to let him know about a body washed up in the overgrown brush that spans the U.S. side of the river. Because there is but one boat ramp into the river and bodies can be found miles up and down the river, it can be a time-consuming effort.

The fire department uses a simple system to track those it recovers but was unable to break down the numbers by immigration status, gender, or age. As a result, Mello has to go by what he has seen in recent months and could not provide data for the past year.

Child drownings are becoming very common, he said, noting the death of a 3-year-old boy this week.

We've been seeing a whole lot more children drowning not like years past. I've been here 30 years. Once in a while, you'd see a child drowning. It was mostly male migrants that were crossing the river, said Mello. Now, we see people of all ages. It's just overwhelming because you'll see pregnant females. ... We had a family crossing, and they lost their children.

The uptick in deaths comes as more people are being encountered attempting to enter the U.S. illegally than at any time in history. Given that more people are attempting to cross the river, the number who are unsuccessful is also rising.

Recently, the fire department pulled six bodies from the river in one day, and on that same day, Mexican first responders pulled six people from the south side of the river. In addition, the department recovers one to two bodies per week of migrants who died of dehydration and heat-related illnesses.

Maverick County does not have its own medical examiner, and the fire department must transport every body an hour's drive to Webb County. Medical Examiner Dr. CorrineStern has been in her role as a forensic pathologist for two decades and has never seen anything like what is unfolding.

"This is my busiest year in my career ever," Stern told CNN's Rosa Flores and Rosalina Nieves this week.

She had tracked 196 migrant deaths this time last year across 12 counties. This year, she is responsible for autopsies in 11 counties and has already surpassed 218 deaths.

The human toll is a challenge logistically. Her five coolers have 260 bodies inside. Short on room, Stern asked local funeral home directors to hold bodies until she could make more room, CNN reported. Stern did not return a request for an interview.

Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber said one morgue recently refused to take in any more bodies because it was out of space. One morgue director suggested the city move bodies outside the jail, an idea that Schmerber rejected, the New York Post reported. A funeral home director who spoke with the outlet on condition of anonymity said he had to "stack" bodies at his facility due to a space shortage.

The bodies of migrants who cannot be identified are being buried at the back of a county cemetery with crosses made from PVC pipes, according to CNN. They are fingerprinted before burial in hopes of being able to identify them later.

The crisis is also taking a toll on first responders. Counseling and mental health services are available to the fire department and EMS employees, but Mello worried that pulling babies and children from the river is hitting his staff especially hard given that around 70% of fire employees are in their 20s and 30s and have children that age.

Its very heartbreaking. It's stressful. You go through a lot of emotions, said Mello.

Mello lamented that local officials had not heard from the Biden administration at any point since January 2021. The state has reached out, and Mello requested emergency funding and equipment.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Several years ago, I told a reporter, This thing's not going to stop, Mello said, referring to when illegal migration through Eagle Pass began to rise in 2019. I said, You guys are going to continue coming down here and covering drownings. And look at us right now, recovering double the drownings that we used to have back then.

Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas could not be reached for comment.

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Fire department in Texas border county recovering bodies of migrants every day - Washington Examiner

August 26, 2022 | Austin, Texas | Press Release

Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard are continuing to work together to secure the border, stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas, and prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal behavior between ports of entry.

Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to more than 297,200 migrant apprehensions and more than 19,000 criminal arrests, with more than 16,400 felony charges reported. In the fight against fentanyl, DPS has seized over 335.5 million lethal doses during this border mission.

Texas has also bused over 7,400 migrants to our nation's capital since April and over 1,500 migrants to New York City since August 5. The busing mission is providing much-needed relief to our overwhelmed border communities.

Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps left by the Biden Administration's refusal to secure the border. Every individual who is apprehended or arrested and every ounce of drugs seized would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and the nation due to President Biden's open border policies.

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS FROM OPERATION LONE STAR:

WATCH: Governor Abbott Spotlights Migrant Busing To NYC, Dire Fentanyl Crisis

Governor Abbott joined Americas Newsroom on Fox News to spotlight New York City Mayor Eric Adams hypocrisy in complaining about bused migrants from Texas arriving in his sanctuary city. After the Governor invited Mayor Adams and Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to the border to see the crisis firsthand, the mayors have not accepted the invitation and refuse to acknowledge the magnitude of the problem.

This is not a Texas problem; this is an American problem caused by the president, said Governor Abbott. We need more Americans to call on the president to uphold his oath of office and enforce the immigration laws of the United States.

GOVERNOR ABBOTT: Eric Adams Is All Talk When It Comes To Open Borders

In an op-ed for the New York Post this week, Governor Abbott called out Mayor Adams for boasting about his sanctuary city policies, while failing to live up to his campaign promises. Despite remaining silent when President Biden flew migrants to New York, the mayor is now condemning anyone who presses him to follow through on his ill-considered sanctuary city policies.

Mayor Adams likes to sloganeer that This is America and we need to start acting like it, Governor Abbott writes. We are a nation of laws. Its time to start enforcing them. Doing that would restore the humanity he is clamoring for.

Read Governor Abbotts op-ed.

WATCH: Governor Abbott Points Out Mayors Political Games Amid Border Crisis

Governor Abbott joined Fox Business Larry Kudlow to discuss disastrous policies of Democrat leaders like President Biden's open border policies and New York Mayor Adams' hypocritical sanctuary city and the chaos they are creating at our southern border.

The only reason we have all these people coming across the border is because of President Bidens open border policies, said Governor Abbott. It was just two years ago we had record low numbers of people coming across the border illegally under President Trump because of the four policies he put in place that President Biden eliminated when he became president.

Texas National Guard Seize 80 Lbs. Of Narcotics Near Residential Area Of Laredo

Texas National Guard soldiers seized 80 lbs. of narcotics near a residential area of Laredo with the assistance of U.S. Border Patrols Air and Marine Division. Border Patrol helicopter pilots identified multiple drug smugglers attempting to enter the country and radioed their location to ground forces.

The would-be smugglers left a bundle of narcotics before fleeing, and Border Patrol air assets used infrared lasers to communicate to Texas National Guard soldiers on the ground the exact location of the bundle to seize the drugs.

WATCH: Texas National Guard Soldier Describes Recent Narcotics Seizure

A Texas National Guard squad leader described a recent nighttime seizure of 80 lbs. of narcotics from a residential area of Laredo. Working alongside Border Patrol, soldiers tracked smugglers from Mexico attempting to move narcotics into the U.S.

This is why were here, said the squad leader.

WATCH: DPS, Federal Partners Find 26 Illegal Immigrants Inside Tanker Trailer

After stopping a commercial vehicle tanker trailer in Laredo, DPS troopers, agents from the DPS Criminal Investigation Division, and federal law enforcement officials discovered 26 illegal immigrants concealed inside the tanker.

The driver and passenger were arrested for human smuggling. In all, 14 males and 12 females from Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador were referred to Border Patrol.

WATCH: DPS Troopers Catch Deported Felon From Mexico Living In U.S. Illegally

During a traffic stop last week, a DPS trooper discovered the driver had an outstanding warrant for indecency with a child for sexual contact. It was also discovered the driver was a deported felon from Mexico living in the U.S. illegally. He was charged with the outstanding warrant and failure to identify by a fugitive with intent to give false information.

PHOTO: DPS, Federal Law Enforcement Seize 15 Lbs. Of Cocaine

Agents from DPS Criminal Investigations Division, working alongside federal law enforcement, seized 15 lbs. of cocaine in Webb County. The drugs were concealed inside a bag. One person was arrested.

WATCH: Narcotics Smuggler Leads DPS Troopers On High-Speed Pursuit

DPS troopers were led on a high-speed pursuit by a narcotics smuggler last week in Cameron County. After attempting to evade multiple police agencies, the smuggler finally came to a complete stop and was apprehended. A total of 10 bundles of marijuana weighing approximately 240 lbs. were discovered inside the vehicle.

The smuggler was charged with evading arrest and possession of marijuana.

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Operation Lone Star Accelerates Migrant Busing To Sanctuary City NYC - Office of the Texas Governor

And there could be worse to come much worse when the prices energy suppliers can charge are lifted again in January. More than eight million families face being plunged into fuel poverty, a status which kicks in when more than ten per cent of disposable income goes on paying for power.

Businesses are not covered by any kind of cap at all and face astronomic energy price hikes. Some will be able to pass the rise on to customers. Others, especially small businesses, will simply go to the wall.

This scale of price increase for an essential commodity dwarfs the impact of measures that we normally get worked up about at the time of a Budget, when Chancellors can run into big trouble for adding a couple of hundred pounds to tax bills.

So one might expect the Government to be ready with a new package of measures to cushion the blow. But news of the latest fuel bill carnage has come as Boris Johnson is serving out his final days as premier and before LizTruss, his likely successor, has taken office.

Both did their best on Friday to offer reassurance. Johnson rightly set the crisis in the context of Vladimir Putins aggression in Ukraine and his subsequent suspension of most of Russias gas supplies to Europe.

He pointed to measures already announced that will channel hundreds of pounds extra to families. Every domestic bill payer is going to get a 400 discount paid in instalments between October and next March. In addition, eight million most vulnerable households will get further support, including a payment of 650 for those on means-tested benefits, 300 for pensioner households and 150 to those on certain disability benefits.

This, said Johnson, amounted to a pipeline of cash that stretches out throughout the autumn. Yet all this support was put in place earlier in the year to help families cope with the last round of price increases. It is a testament to Johnsons ability as a communicator that he offered reassurance that extra support would be coming soon to help with the latest enormous rise. But there was no point in anyone asking him what that might be because it wont be down to him to decide.

On September 6, Ms Truss is set to take office facing the most formidable array of crises any new premier has encountered since Margaret Thatcher in 1979. Every indicator seems to be heading in the wrong direction from general inflation to ambulance response times, the migrant crisis to an upsurge in violent crime.

Yet all these things are dwarfed by the impact of soaring increases in wholesale energy prices.

So Ms Truss must prioritise energy policy from day one, not just in an emergency Budget in mid-September, but right away in a stand-alone package.

Perhaps some of the MPs who chose to dump Johnson may be experiencing second thoughts now that a national crisis to match the scale of the Covid pandemic is in sight. It hardly seems an ideal time for a novice to take the reins.

So Truss needs to get a big call right if her premiership is not to unravel very quickly. Her inner-circle is divided between those who want her to confine extra state support to pensioners and the poor and those who believe the energy crisis is so severe that middle-income families must be included as well.

Ideologically she is likely to be inclined to the former view, preferring radical measures to increase energy supply, along with tax cuts and rhetoric about more hard graft to point those on average incomes towards a method of cushioning the living standards blow by themselves.

But millions of hardworking families in the middle of the income scale will not take kindly to being left out in the cold. The lesson of recent years from the financial crisis to Covid is that governments are well-advised to respond early and at a scale which bolsters public confidence.

Ms Truss on Friday wrote that she would not just throw taxpayers money at problems as a quick fix. She is right to identify higher growth as the long-term way out of the living standards slump.

But to underfund a fiscal package in the meantime would amount to the ultimate false economy plunging the UK into a deep recession while leaving key groups of voters feeling abandoned. There might be no coming back from that.

Read more:
Truss must think and spend big to solve energy crisis, says PATRICK O'FLYNN - Express

The U.S. Department of Defense again turned down D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowsers request for support from the National Guard to deal with the migrant crisis.

Meanwhile, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton has moved to aid the migrants bused into the city from Texas and Arizona.

The Bowser administration initially made the request on July 19 but was rejected by the Pentagon because the request was too-opened, according to the mayor. The Pentagon also believes that funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency would suffice, WTOP reported, citing The Associated Press.

The mayors latest request, on Aug. 11, asked for a 90-day deployment of National Guard members.

Because D.C. is not a state, only the president can deploy the citys National Guard members. However, in a letter Monday, the Pentagon said doing so would be inappropriate to the task no matter the duration, according to a copy of the letter reviewed by WTOP.

The letter said a group of civilian and non-governmental organizations have the experience in dealing with the situation and are backed by FEMA funds.

Norton has introduced an emergency appropriations bill for the current fiscal year to provide an additional $50 million for FEMAs Emergency Food and Shelter Program. The funding is designed for humanitarian assistance to migrants such as those being bused to D.C. and New York City by Texas and Arizona.

The governors of Texas and Arizona are exploiting and harming desperate and vulnerable people fleeing dangerous situations in their home countries for political gain, she said. I commend the work organizations in D.C. and the National Capital Region have done to assist these migrants, but more funding is needed to assist these families.

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Pentagon Denies Bowser Help from National Guard in Migrant Crisis for Second Time - The Washington Informer

On Monday, a record 1,295 refugees arrived on Englands south coast after crossing the Channel in 27 small boats.

It was the highest daily total since records began, and prompted familiar comments from the Home Office, who said the numbers were unacceptable and it was all the people smugglers fault. In truth, however, the Government is now compelled by its own figures to admit that its asylum policies, which promised to deter refugees from crossing the Channel, have failed.

But it is not just a question of failure. Refugees sent to Rwanda could be forced to join the countrys army and sent to fight in neighbouring states, it was revealed in court disclosures last month. Despite this, Tory leadership hopefuls Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have doubled down on the plan because it is popular among Conservative Party members.

To promise to send refugees to a foreign country with a poor human rights record would be grotesque under any circumstances; but in this case it is all the worse because the evidence shows Channel crossings will continue regardless. The Governments policies may in fact be persuading more people to make the Channel crossing.

We know that the Rwanda plan is not a deterrent, because since it was announced, small boat crossings have reached this record high. But Care4Calais has its own evidence from refugees in northern France, too. From 1-7 August, our volunteers surveyed 270 refugees in Calais and Dunkirk camps. We found that 61 per cent of refugees were aware of the Rwanda policy, but the vast majority of them 85 per cent said it would not stop them trying to claim asylum in the UK. Some 89 per cent per cent said they wouldnt consider trying another country in Europe. And crucially, 84 per cent said that the Rwanda policy wouldnt have stopped them leaving their own country if they had known about it before setting off.

The great deterrent will not work because of another policy ministers rarely mention in public. All official asylum claim routes for refugees, such as those in northern France, have now been shut off by the UK Government. Fewer than one per cent of refugees are eligible for official schemes. That causes the crisis we now see, with people driven into the hands of people smugglers and record numbers of terrified people risking their lives on the cold, dark water of the English Channel.

UK government policy is driving up the numbers they claim to be so intent on reducing. Desperate refugees do not have any meaningful choices. They are victims of the very worst tragedies; they have seen their families killed in conflicts; they have been tortured and abused by tyrants; and they have survived horrendous journeys. These refugees are desperately seeking safety. In most cases, they are trying to reach the UK because they have family and friends here who can shelter them.

It can seem a hopeless situation. But there is a fairly simple solution. Of the 20,000 people who have risked everything by crossing the Channel on boats so far this year, not one has been a Ukrainian citizen. Why? Because Ukrainians are given visas for safe passage to the UK.

If Truss or Sunak are serious about stopping dangerous boat journeys and breaking the smugglers business model, the answer is clear: offer refugees from other countries a process like the scheme for Ukraine. Screen them in Europe and provide visas for safe travel to those with a viable asylum claim. They can then get to the UK and claim asylum on arrival without risking their lives. This would put people smugglers out of business and end the chaos on the Channel.

The winner of the Conservative leadership contest will be announced on 5 September the same day our joint court action against the Rwanda policy returns to the High Court. If the next Prime Minister wishes to solve the problem that has bedeviled the Government for more than a decade, they should heed mounting evidence and abandon the Rwanda plan as soon as they enter 10 Downing Street.

Their immediate priorities should be delivering a workable solution to the Channel crossing with visas for safe passage, alongside tackling the cost-of-living crisis at home.

No one will miss the Rwanda plan. When the crossings end, as they so easily could, everyone will be happy even Conservative Party members.

Clare Moseley is the founder of refugee charity Care4Calais

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The Rwanda plan isn't working but there is a simple solution to the migrant crisis - iNews