One of the hidden costs of Joe Biden’s refusal to enforce America’s immigration laws is the extreme psychological toll that it is taking on first responders. In Eagle Pass, TX, fire and rescue crews are plucking the dead bodies of men, women, and children out of the Rio Grande River every single day. Residents say there are days when the ambulance sirens never stop wailing. Americans are often left waiting for medical care in Eagle Pass because the emergency rooms and hospitals are flooded with illegals.
Eagle Pass Fire Chief Manuel Mello says that the Rio Grande has become a river of misery for him and his 52 first responders. They are placed in dangerous, nightmare situations every day as they deal with all the “floaters.” Mello says that his medics often tell him, “Chief, I’m sick and tired of going out to the river and pulling bodies out.”
The record-high numbers of illegals crossing the river have also led to record-high casualties in the form of drownings.
“It breaks my heart to know that there are children drowning in the river; there are people on the way over here being raped and being robbed,” said Eagle Pass resident Ruben Camarillo. He was interviewed while standing on a street corner in support of Donald Trump’s recent visit to the border in Eagle Pass. He says that the invasion is “causing so much death and destruction … and we’re experiencing that firsthand.”
Chief Mello testified before Congress last week and reiterated that the locals in Texas are not receiving any help from the federal government in dealing with the crisis. One of the things he asked Congress for was money to help cover the costs of the daily ambulance rides for illegals, which they never pay for.
Mello is also trying to secure funding to pay for counseling for his first responders. The stress and trauma of pulling dead children out of the river lingers with them even when they’re off duty. Emergency responders are expected to have to deal with deaths as part of the job, it’s the scope of the problem under Joe Biden’s failed leadership that is taking a toll.
“The mental impact will take a long time to heal if we do not get help for them soon,” Chief Mello told Congress.
Unlike most local leaders who simply demand money from Congress to pay more welfare for the illegals, Chief Mello stated the obvious. A much more cost-effective way to deal with this whole problem would be to seal the border.
Since he was installed in office after the stolen 2020 election, Joe Biden has enacted more than 500 new immigration-related policies. Most of those policies eliminated or rolled back the effective policies that had been enacted under President Donald Trump. The situation is so bad that the “official” number of illegal entries is now more than 9 million, although many believe the unofficial figure to be much closer to 20 million.
The problem is at both borders now. In 2020, President Trump’s last year in office, there were only 405,000 illegal aliens caught trying to cross into the country. In 2023, there were 189,000 illegals caught trying to sneak into the US from Canada.
Most Americans don’t realize just how many people Joe Biden is getting killed by throwing our borders open because the news media never covers it.
“These past couple of years, we have been going to the river, basically almost every day—sometimes three, four times a day—for drownings; for body recovery,” Chief Mello said.
