Three-year-old migrant child drowns as family attempts to cross Rio Grande near Texas-installed barrier

Controversy has surrounded Gov Greg Abbott’s decision to create a floating deterrent

The Rio Grande is North America’s fourth longest river and a common crossing point for migrants (Getty)

A young child has died after his family attempted to cross the Rio Grande near a floating barrier ordered by Texas governor Greg Abbott.

The Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed the incident took place on Wednesday, according to ABC News.

Strong currents swept the three-year-old boy away and, despite a tactical marine unit being able to locate him, he later died in hospital.

Abbott controversially had the floating barrier of buoys installed near Eagle Pass in July 2023 to deter migrants from crossing into his state.

The family had attempted to cross north of the barrier when tragedy struck.

Another body was later found on Thursday in the same area, and the Maverick County Sheriff’s Office is now investigating the deaths.

Officials have said that although the river may appear to be shallow enough to cross on foot, steep drop-offs can cause waders to be caught in powerful currents.

Earlier this month, a federal judge ordered Texas to move the buoys to the riverbank by 15 September following a lawsuit filed by the Biden administration arguing that the the barrier forces migrants to cross in areas where the risk of drowning is greater.

Abbott led a legal challenge in response which was upheld and the buoys remained.

A record number of migrants have been attempting to cross the US-Mexico border in September (Getty)

Back in July, ABC News revealed that the Department of Justice had penned a letter to Abbott regarding his decision to introduce the barrier which reads, “The State of Texas’s actions violate federal law, raise humanitarian concerns, present serious risks to public safety and the environment, and may interfere with the federal government’s ability to carry out its official duties,”.

It comes as a record number of migrants attempt to cross the US-Mexico border.

Data gathered from Internal Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) by CBS has shown that 140,000 migrants were detained across the 2,000-mile border in the first 20 days of September, an average of 6,900 per day.

Numbers have steadily been increasing, and on Wednesday 9,000 migrants were proscessed — the highest daily figure since May.

It’s expected that the CBP will record over 210,000 migrant apprehensions in September alone, making it the biggest since December 2022.