Shocking Death of Asylum Seeker and His Daughter at US Border

A Salvadoran man and his two-year-old daughter drowned in the border river while fleeing Mexico to the United States. The publication of their bodies’ photos has sparked outrage and criticism on social media.

The Mexican newspaper “La Jornada,” which first published the shocking photo, reported from Tania A., the mother of the two-year-old girl and wife of Oscar R. who died in the “Rio Grande” river in the Mexico-US border area: On Sunday, June 23rd, they decided to cross the “Rio Grande” river. Oscar had carried his daughter Valeria on his back, crossed the river and reached dry land, and intended to return to help his wife cross the river, but suddenly the daughter ran after him and fell into the river. The father returned to rescue her, but instead of saving his child, he too drowned.

Border police found the bodies of the two about 500 meters away after a few hours.

Oscar’s mother told journalists that her son, along with his wife and two-year-old child, left El Salvador on April 3rd of this year heading to the United States. They spent two months in “Tapachula,” the border area between El Salvador and Guatemala, and then went to Mexico.

Wave of Anger and Criticism

The publication of the photos of Oscar and two-year-old Valeria’s bodies is reminiscent of the death of three-year-old Syrian child Alan Kurdi in the Mediterranean, who was found in one of Turkey’s ports in 2015.

The image of the lifeless bodies of the Salvadoran refugee and his child sparked a wave of anger and criticism. Many social media activists hold the United States’ immigration policy responsible for the deaths of the two.

Some users have also criticized the Mexican government authorities because they have succumbed to pressures from Donald Trump, the US President.

Trump had asked his Mexican counterpart López Obrador to prevent asylum seekers from entering US territory, otherwise Washington would raise tariffs on Mexican products.

In this regard, an agreement was reached between the two countries, based on which the Mexican government deployed 15,000 soldiers and police officers on its northern borders.

According to US border police, the bodies of a refugee mother and her three young children have also been found on the shores of the “Rio Grande” river. Apparently, they died of thirst.

US House Financial Aid to Asylum Seekers

The US House of Representatives passed a bill that allocates four billion and 500 million dollars in financial aid for asylum seekers’ children on the Mexico border.

According to Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader of the House, this money will be spent on food, clothing, hygiene, housing, and medical needs of asylum seekers’ children.

Many Republican representatives oppose this plan and intend to pass a new bill in the Senate in this regard.

In recent weeks, human rights organizations have criticized the abnormal situation of asylum seekers in Mexico’s shelters. According to them, the situation of children in these shelters is appalling.

Source: DW