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A harrowing photo of a Salvadoran migrant and his young daughter who drowned in the Rio Grande at the US-Mexico border became the focus on Wednesday of a political debate over US government's asylum policies. The picture of Oscar Alberto Martinez, 25, and his 24-month-old daughter Angie Valeria put a renewed focus on the plight of refugees and migrants who are mostly from Central America. The toddler's arm is draped around her father's neck, suggesting that she was clinging to him in her final moments. The pair had traveled from El Salvador and were seeking asylum in the United States. The UN refugee agency compared the photograph to the 2015 image of the three-year-old Syrian boy Alan Kurdi who drowned off the Greek island of Kos. According to Julia Le Duc, a reporter for La Jornada, who took the shocking pictures, Martinez had arrived in Matamoros on Sunday, hoping to request asylum from US authorities with his wife and their daughter. But when he realized that it could be weeks before they were even able to start the asylum process, Martinez decided they should swim across, said Le Duc, who witnessed the deceased man's wife giving her account to the police. ▲ Oscar Alberto Martinez and his daughter 'He crossed first with the little girl and he left her on the American side. Then he turned back to get his wife, but the girl went into the water after him. When he went to save her, the current took them both,' Le Duc said. ▲ Rosa Ramirez cries as she shows journalists toys that belonged to granddaughter. The US administration had tightened the country's asylum system, creating a growing backlog of cases. Migrants are routinely forced to wait for months to start the asylum process; those who despair of waiting turn to more remote and dangerous routes across the southern frontier. Isabel Turcios, director of the Migrant Shelter in Piedras Negras of Mexico said that local activists warn migrants not to try their luck on the river, but 'people get desperate and cannot keep waiting'. ▲ The deceased man's wife is assisted by Mexican authorities. 'So they go to the river and without any form of protection — no life jacket, nothing to save them — they go into the river,' said Isabel. Mexican President Andrews Manuel Lopez said: 'Very regrettable that this would happen. We have always denounced that as there is more rejection in the United States, there are people who lose their lives in the desert or crossing the river.' US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders called the image 'horrific' and said the president's migration clampdown made deaths more likely. Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke said 'Trump is responsible for these deaths.' In turn, Trump blamed the Democrats, whom he said were blocking his government's attempts at closing 'loopholes' in US law that encourage migrants to apply for US asylum. Record numbers of Central American migrants are reaching the United States this year despite a crackdown by US government. US border patrol agents have apprehended 664,000 people along the southern border so far this year, a 144 percent increase from last year, said Brian Hastings, chief of law enforcement operations for the US Border Patrol. 'The system is overwhelmed,' he said. Sources: Guardian, AP, Reuters Click here for audio and translation of the story |
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