Photo of drowned father-daughter highlights migrants' crisis

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Bangla Tribune Desk
Published : 17:57, Jun 26, 2019 | Updated : 18:35, Jun 26, 2019

Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez and his 23-month-old daughter Valeria were found dead in the Rio Grande. Photo: sky newsA father and daughter lie face down in murky waters littered with reeds and discarded beer bottles. Their heads are wrapped in a black T-shirt -- her tiny right arm draped over his shoulders.

The shocking image captured Monday (Jun 24) was a grim reminder of the dangerous journey migrants take to the United States. Oscar Alberto Martínez had crossed the Rio Grande and turned around to get his wife when his 23-month-old daughter saw him swimming away and jumped after him, reports CNN.

The father clung to the little girl in red pants and black shoes, but a strong current swept over and drowned them, Julia Le Duc, the photographer who captured the image of the pair, wrote for Mexican newspaper, La Jornada.

The newspaper talked to the man's wife, Tania, who said she saw her husband and child drown Sunday. Their bodies were found on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande.

A grim glimpse into immigrants' peril

The haunting image offers a glimpse into the suffering asylum seekers face on the US-Mexico border. The young girl, Angie Valeria M., and her father were from El Salvador, and died as they tried to cross into the United States. Angie's mother gave her age as 23 months old, the newspaper said.

Their bodies were found Monday near Matamoros, across the river from Brownsville, Texas.

The bodies were found face down in the Rio Grande on the US-Mexico border. Photo: Sky NewsThey were waiting for asylum

The family had been in a migrant camp in Matamoros since Sunday, hoping for an appointment to receive political asylum from the US, the newspaper said, citing Martinez's wife.

US asylum seekers face long waits or risky crossings, thanks to supposed capacity crunch

US asylum seekers face long waits or risky crossings, thanks to the supposed capacity crunch

They'd been in Mexico for two months in the scorching heat -- temperatures climbed to 113 degrees Fahrenheit at times -- and the family decided to cross the river out of desperation, La Jornada reported. The victim's wife said they had obtained a humanitarian visa from the Mexican government.

Ports of entry along the border have long been overwhelmed by the surging asylum claims, Customs and Border Protection officials have said.

But US policies that make it harder for those seeking asylum to turn themselves in at ports of entry are pushing more migrants to take deadly risks and cross in more dangerous areas, advocates have said, warning the number of deaths at the border will increase.

Turnbacks and long waits also often push asylum seekers into crossing the border illegally, according to a September report by the Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General.

This new image is reminiscent of the iconic 2015 photo of a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy, Aylan Kurdi, whose body washed up on a beach in Turkey. The photo shocked and moved UN and European leaders and stirred discussion over immigration policies.

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