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Fact check: Did a congress woman remark that the girls that drowned in Texas deserved to die because they were rich ehite catholic girls

Checked on July 8, 2025

1. Summary of the results

Based on the comprehensive analysis of available sources, no evidence exists to support the claim that a congresswoman remarked that girls who drowned in Texas deserved to die because they were "rich white Catholic girls." The sources reveal several distinct incidents involving drownings and controversial statements in Texas, but none match the specific claim being investigated.

The closest relevant incident involves Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, who expressed heartbreak over migrant deaths, including a child, near Governor Greg Abbott's anti-migrant buoys in the Rio Grande [1]. However, her statement was one of sympathy, not callousness, and made no reference to the victims deserving death based on their race, religion, or economic status.

A separate incident involved Sade Perkins, a former Houston appointee (not a congresswoman), who made controversial comments about flooded girls' camp victims, suggesting they "get what they voted for" [2]. While insensitive, this statement also did not include the specific language about deserving death due to being "rich white Catholic girls."

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question appears to conflate multiple separate incidents involving Texas drownings and controversial political statements. The sources reveal important missing context:

  • Border-related drownings: Multiple sources document actual migrant drowning incidents along the Texas-Mexico border, with political tensions between federal and state authorities over border control policies [3] [4]
  • Flood-related incidents: There were separate flooding incidents affecting camps and communities in Texas, which generated their own political controversies [2]
  • Pattern of controversial statements: The sources suggest a broader pattern of politically charged rhetoric surrounding tragic incidents in Texas, but none matching the specific claim being investigated

Political actors who might benefit from spreading unverified claims about inflammatory congressional statements include those seeking to discredit political opponents or inflame partisan tensions around immigration and disaster response policies.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original statement exhibits several characteristics of potential misinformation:

  • Lack of specificity: No specific congresswoman is named, making verification difficult
  • Inflammatory language: The alleged quote contains highly provocative elements (race, religion, class) designed to generate strong emotional responses
  • Conflation of incidents: The question appears to merge elements from different real events into a single false narrative
  • No verifiable source: Despite multiple analyses covering various Texas-related incidents and congressional statements, no credible source supports this specific claim

The statement may represent a fabricated or distorted version of real events, potentially designed to damage the reputation of Democratic congresswomen or inflame racial and religious tensions. This type of misinformation is particularly dangerous as it combines real elements (Texas drownings, political controversies) with false attributions to create a believable but untrue narrative.

Want to dive deeper?
Which congresswoman made the controversial remarks about the Texas drowning incident?
What was the official response from the congresswoman's office regarding the insensitive comments?
How did the families of the victims react to the congresswoman's remarks?
Were there any calls for the congresswoman's resignation after the incident?
What is the congresswoman's voting record on issues related to social justice and equality?