The photo is haunting, a vivid reminder of the danger many face when they try to cross into the United States. It shows the human toll of a crisis at the border that’s often debated with abstract statistics and detached policy arguments.
The image of the Salvadoran father and his daughter lying face down in the water of the Rio Grande, part of the US border with Mexico, is a heartbreaking testimony to the suffering behind the numbers.
For months, advocates have been warning that deaths at the border would increase, as migrants are forced to cross in more dangerous areas by US policies that make it harder for those seeking asylum to turn themselves in at ports of entry.
In the image, the young girl is tucked inside her father’s shirt, her right arm slung around his neck as they lie near the shore. Their bodies have come to rest near a river bank where five discarded beer cans and an empty soda bottle sit in the tall reeds. Another beer can floats next to the girl’s body.
El Salvador’s newly elected President Nayib Bukele said the government would help the family financially.
