Biden says 'political grandstanding around tragedy' is 'shameful' after Texas Gov. Abbott blames him for the deaths of 50 migrants

• President Joe Biden denounced "political grandstanding around tragedy" after Texas' governor blamed him for the deaths of migrants.

• "Exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit is shameful, as is political grandstanding around tragedy," Biden said.

• Abbott blamed Biden after dozens of migrants were found dead inside a truck in San Antonio.

President Joe Biden called out "political grandstanding around tragedy" on Tuesday, hours after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the deaths of the dozens of migrants found in a sweltering tractor-trailer in rural San Antonio were his fault.

The death toll from the apparent human smuggling incident rose from 46 to 50 as of Tuesday morning, US officials said.

Hours after the grim Monday night discovery of what a local fire official called "stacks of bodies" inside an abandoned big rig in a remote area of San Antonio, Abbott blamed Biden for the deaths.

"These deaths are on Biden," the Republican governor said in a tweet, which added, "They are a result of his deadly open border policies."

 The tweet continued, "They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law."

Nearly an hour before the dozens of bodies were found inside the truck, Abbott praised his state's ability to "secure the border" between the US and Mexico.

In Biden's statement Tuesday, the president said "exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit is shameful, as is political grandstanding around tragedy."

"My administration will continue to do everything possible to stop human smugglers and traffickers from taking advantage of people who are seeking to enter the United States between ports of entry," Biden added.

In response to Biden's comments, Abbott's office again centered blame on Biden's policies in a statement calling the federal government "complicit in Mexican cartels' human smuggling enterprise" by "encouraging migrants to risk their lives by not enforcing our nation's laws."

"This horrific tragedy of dozens left to die in a tractor-trailer could have been prevented if President Biden would do his job and secure the border," Abbott added. "President Biden swore an oath to uphold the laws of our nation—it's time he starts living up to that oath and secures our southern border."

Meanwhile, Biden called the deaths of the migrants "horrifying and heartbreaking" in his statement.

"While we are still learning all the facts about what happened and the Department of Homeland Security has the lead for the investigation, initial reports are that this tragedy was caused by smugglers or human traffickers who have no regard for the lives they endanger and exploit to make a profit," Biden said.

Three people "believed to be part of the smuggling conspiracy" have been detained by Homeland Security Investigations, a spokesperson for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Insider on Tuesday.

 Biden said the incident "underscores the need to go after the multi-billion dollar criminal smuggling industry preying on migrants and leading to far too many innocent deaths."

Local authorities said Monday at a press conference that 46 bodies were found inside the truck and that 16 people, including four minors, were hospitalized.

"The patients that we saw were hot to the touch," San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said. "They were suffering from heat stroke, heat exhaustion."

Five people were taken to San Antonio's Baptist Medical Center where three of them later died, a hospital spokesperson told Insider on Tuesday.

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