A so-called "Death Train" used by Mexicans and Central Americans to travel toward the U.S. border derailed in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca on Wednesday, stranding at least 1,300 migrants, emergency services said. It was the same day that President Barack Obama met with Texas Gov. Rick Perry to discuss the border crisis.
Nicknamed "the Beast," the cargo train unexpectedly came off the tracks Wednesday, leaving many of the migrants injured, Reuters reported. However, none of them, most of them young people, were reported to sustain any injuries while riding what others have referred to as "El Tren de la Muerte," or Death Train. Authorities said several days of heavy rain in southern Mexico may have been the cause of derailment.
As Breitbart Texas has reported, "children who travel via Death Train must jump onto a moving freight car" and "minors who cannot successfully pull themselves onto the traveling cars fall onto the tracks" and "many are left with extreme injuries," like losing arms and legs. Fleeing from violence at home, many children hope to find a safe shelter in the U.S.
Since last October, at least 57,000 unaccompanied minors, most from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, have been caught illegally crossing the southwest border of the United States, with officials expecting at least 150,000 more to do so next year. Additionally, since Obama unilaterally enacted his temporary amnesty act in 2012, the number of illegal immigrant children unlawfully entering the country has increased
"After the Obama administration sent more than $250 million in aid to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, administration critics have said Obama should cut off aid to these nations until they take measures to prevent their migrants from trying to enter the United States," according to Breitbart Texas. "Many of these nations want their migrants to go to America so they can send back billions of dollars in remittances, which account for a significant percentage of the GDP of these nations."
Meanwhile, three fundraisers were attended by Obama on Wednesday and Thursday in Texas. However, he failed to see the crisis firsthand by not visiting the border.
