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TWO days after the family of a migrant who drowned while crossing the Rio Grande buried his body, the man called to say he was alive and well.
The stunned family said today the would-be drowning victim should be granted temporary US residency and a work visa because of the mishap.
Relatives of Omar Garcia, a 25-year-old father-of-one, buried what they thought was his body last Thursday and were still grieving his death when he called to say he had sneaked to the US and was living in Brownsville.
"He told me, 'Mama I couldn't call earlier because they robbed me and I couldn't afford a phone card until now,'" Mr Garcia's mother, Margarita Escobedo, said.
Family members at first said they planned to sue Texas authorities for negligence, but backed off that claim today.
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10472255%255E13762,00.html