The governor accused President Biden of letting COVID-19 positive undocumented immigrants into the country through our state’s southern border.
Is that claim true? That’s what a lot of you have been asking. We’re putting it through the KPRC 2 Trust Index.
Last month, President Biden ended a program forcing migrants seeking asylum to wait in Mexico while their cases were heard. Now, those immigrants who are waiting on a court hearing can be released into the United States. Federal officials say they are all screened for COVID-19 before entering. But, KPRC 2 has discovered other immigrants crossing the border are not always screened for COVID-19 before they’re released.
In February, KPRC 2 Investigator Robert Arnold traveled to the Texas border where he spoke with federal agents about a new surge of immigrants crossing the border illegally.
“It was like 253 within a two-hour time frame, that was mainly family units and unaccompanied minors,” said Border Agent Jesse Moreno.
Customs and Border Patrol told KPRC 2 anyone detained is medically screened. If they’re symptomatic, they go to a hospital or clinic for testing. No symptoms, no test, and that person could be released, pending a court hearing. Earlier this week, our partners at Telemundo discovered immigrants released from federal custody, arriving at the Brownsville Bus Station, where the city of Brownsville set up COVID-19 testing.
The city told Telemundo, since Jan. 25, 108 migrants tested positive for COVID-19, or about 6% who took the test. The city can’t stop someone from getting on a bus and some COVID-19 positive migrants who spoke to Telemundo said they were headed for destinations across the country.
So, the governor’s claim that COVID-19 positive undocumented immigrants are entering the country through the Texas-Mexico border is accurate.
Source: www.click2houston.com
