AUSTIN, Texas — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick claimed on Monday that Texas's border water buoys have led to fewer drowning-related deaths among immigrants despite claims from Democrats they pose grave humanitarian risks.

Patrick accused President Joe Biden of being "coldhearted" and "total socialist Marxist" for how Washington has handled millions of noncitizens illegally entering the country since 2021, and he said the red state had done more to help immigrants by deterring them than the White House.

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"This is one coldhearted president. He doesn't care, you know. They don't like the buoys we put in the water. Guess what? We put them in to save people from drowning. Drownings are down," Patrick said during an interview on Fox and Friends on Monday. "This president doesn't care about anyone — total socialist Marxist. They say they care about everyone, but they care about no one. They don't care if people die to achieve their political purpose."

Gov. Greg Abbott's (R-TX) office did not respond to a request for data backing up Patrick's claim or the period before the July installation of the buoys that Patrick was comparing drowning numbers with.

Abbott installed a 1,000-foot string of buoys in the water between Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Coahuila, in early July.

The Biden administration asked Abbott to take down the buoys on July 20. Abbott refused and told the White House in a letter that week, "Texas will see you in court, Mr. President."

The Justice Department sued Abbott in late July and ordered the removal of the buoys, alleging they violated the Rivers and Harbors Act, which bars the obstruction of U.S. waterways.

"Texas's deployment of the Floating Barrier has caused significant and ongoing harm to the United States' foreign relations with Mexico," the DOJ wrote in a filing on July 26. "Mexico has specifically asserted that Texas's actions contravene various treaty obligations and has raised humanitarian concerns regarding possible loss of life to persons swimming in the Rio Grande."

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), whose district includes the closest major city to Eagle Pass, has called for the removal of the buoys since their installation.

In a video shared to X, formerly known as Twitter, earlier this month, Castro called the devices "barrel traps" that contained "chainsaw devices."

In addition, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper internally complained to superiors that the state's increasingly militarized border had gone into the "inhumane."

The inspector general for the state's DPS has launched an investigation into a trooper's alarming report that state-driven border security efforts have led to horrific repercussions for immigrants, including death.

Two dead bodies, presumably immigrants who attempted to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico, were found alongside the buoys earlier in August, according to the Mexican government. Texas officials disputed Mexico's claim that the bodies were tangled in the buoys and said only one body was found and that the person drowned upstream and drifted downstream toward the buoys.

House Republicans from Texas have backed Abbott and blamed Biden for the 6 million noncitizens who have been encountered attempting to enter the U.S. without permission since he took office.

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Republicans, including Abbott, have accused Biden of failing to protect the U.S., justifying the state's actions.

"It's one thing that the federal government has refused to secure the border and Texas has had to spend so much money," Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) said during the press conference on July 27. "It's another thing when they actually get in our way and tell us we have to stop securing our border."