WESLACO – A family of a migrant boy who drowned is speaking out.

The family came from Honduras to live a new life in the U.S. – all that stood in their way was a dangerous river.  

The seven-year-old boy and his 10-month-old cousin died in the Rio Grande earlier this month.

"He always told me that he wanted to be like me and he thanked God for giving him such wonderful parents,” says the father, Ronan Bonilla.

Border Patrol was able to rescue the other two family members that were in the raft that flipped over.

The family says they came to the U.S. after they fell into debt with medical bills but didn’t know the dangers of crossing the river.

Watch the video above for the full story.