Kiddie pools, doughnut floaties, noodles: Migrants use inflatables to cross the Rio Grande

EAGLE PASS, Texas — Central American migrants are trying out new flotation devices typically seen at summertime pool parties in an effort to get across the fast-flowing Rio Grande that runs between Mexico and Texas.

In a quarter-mile section of the border between Eagle Pass, Texas, and Mexico's northern border city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, local residents have filmed many migrant families attempting to use kiddie pools and cartoon-themed floaties to get across the river instead of wading or swimming.

Migrants, including possibly smugglers aiding people in the final step of their journey, inflate the floating devices on the river banks of Mexico. Those crossing have used several types of blue rectangular pools, as well as sprinkled doughnut tubes and glitter floats that go around the waist.

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