A Texas National Guard soldier was feared dead Friday after attempting to rescue illegal migrants from a river along the border of Mexico.

A Texas Army National Guard Soldier assigned to Operation Lone Star has gone missing along the river during a mission related incident, Friday April 22, 2022 in Eagle Pass, Texas. The Soldier has not been found, a statement from the department read.

We are aware of reports of a fatality, although those reports are inaccurate. The Texas Military Department, Texas DPS and Border Patrol are working rapidly to find the Soldier. More details will be released as they become available.

Sources have toldFox Newsthat a body of a migrant was recovered and that officials are treating the search for the soldier as a drowning using dive teams in the river.Fox reported that his radio and body armor removed before he went into the water were found nearby.

Theguardsmanhad jumped into the river to save a migrant woman.

Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerbertold theWashingtonExaminerthat the incident happened at around 8:30amCentral Time.

The National Guard soldiers saw a group of immigrants crossing, and one of them, a lady it appeared that she was drowning, Schmerber said. The National Guardsman jumped into the river and tried to rescue,andhe never came out. So they called us and said, Were still looking for him.'

The sheriff added that the migrant woman is safe and in custody.

Video footage shared by the Daily Caller last week showed several of them being swept away by the Rio Grande, reportedly calling out for help.

The incident comes as migration levels along the southern border soar, having reached more than 221,000 in March the most in a single month since Biden took office, during which there has been an increasing surge.

Last months encounters along the border marked a huge spike from February, which only reported 164,973 stops.

Previously, the highest number of encounters in a single month under President Biden was last July, when 213,593 encounters were reported.

Local and state officials are worried illegal migrant levels will continue to get worse in the coming weeks, as border states brace for the administration to officially spike the Trump-era Title 42 policy which has allowed border officials to quickly expel migrants without hearing asylum claims due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

On April 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the order would be lifted on May 23.

With the order only in place for just four more weeks, groups made up of dozens of migrants are already attempting to cross the border.

Earlier this month, border agents rounded up four separate large groups totaling 754 people including 356 adults and 123 unaccompanied children.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are urging the Biden administration to keep Title 42 in place, citing the anticipated surge of migrants as well as the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

Democratic Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar indicated on Thursday that lifting the policy will not only hurt the local communities, but the Democratic party as a whole headed into the fall midterm elections.

This is not good for Democrats in November. You know, in talking with some of my Republican colleagues, theyre saying We cant believe the White House is giving us this narrative. We cant believe that theyre hurting Democrat candidates for the November election, he told Fox News digital.

And you know this, you look at the polls. The Republican voters are not happy by whats happening at the border. The Democratic voters are not happy. And if you look at the independent voters, theyre not happy about this decision. So who are we trying to please?

To combat the expected surge and protest the administrations immigration policies, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has begun to bus dozens of migrants from his state to Washington D.C.

As of Wednesday, the Republican had sent more than 150 volunteer migrants to the nations capital.

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Texas National Guard soldier feared dead after trying to save migrant - New York Post