A photograph of a man and his 23-month-old daughter who drowned trying to cross the Rio Grande, has highlighted the perils for central American migrants trying to flee violence and poverty.
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The searing photograph of the pair's bodies was published by Mexican newspaper La Jornada on Tuesday.
According to La Jornada, Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez, swam across the river on Sunday with his daughter, Valeria, after becoming frustrated that he couldn't apply to US officials for asylum
He set her on the US bank of the river and started back for his wife, but seeing him move away the girl threw herself into the waters.
Martinez returned and was able to grab Valeria, but the current swept them both away.
The 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border has been a sometimes deadly crossing for asylum-seekers. A total of 283 migrant deaths were recorded last year.
U.S. "metering" policy has dramatically reduced the number of migrants who are allowed to request asylum, down from dozens per day previously to sometimes just a handful at some ports of entry.
"With greater crackdowns and restrictions," said Cris Ramon, senior immigration policy analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center think tank in Washington, "we could see more desperate measures by people trying to enter Mexico or the U.S."
Australian Associated Press