EAGLE PASS, Texas — Today, following reporting of the state using cruel and inhumane punishment against migrants — including “push[ing] small children and nursing babies back into the Rio Grande” and denying water to migrants in extreme heat, Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa and Maverick County Democratic Party Chair Juanita Martinez released the following joint statement:

“Greg Abbott and his political cronies in the DPS reached a new level of depravity earlier this summer with their floating buoys in the river, intended to deter asylum-seeking migrants with the threat of drowning rather than legal repercussions. 

“But today’s uncovering of the borderline torturous activity against migrants — including all but intentionally drowning babies — deserves a swift and thorough investigation by the federal government.

“In addition, with this state-sanctioned violence against migrants, it’s time for federal authorities to assert their constitutional duty and shut down Greg Abbott’s unconstitutional rogue ‘law enforcement.’ These political shenanigans have been given a pass for long enough — and now it would be a dereliction of duty for the Administration to allow this violence to continue. It has become clear that DPS is a failed agency and it no longer has the confidence of Texans to serve and protect our state.

“As we’ve said countless times in the past, we as Texas Democrats wholeheartedly support urgent, holistic reforms to our immigration system to give much-needed relief to our border communities — but violence against migrants is not the answer. This state desperately needs Republicans in Congress to finally put partisan politics aside and work with us in good faith to fix our country’s broken immigration system.”

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