DHS won’t test thousands of migrants before releasing into US and is relying on border communities

U. S. border officials have no plans for personnel on the southern border to administer coronavirus tests on migrants, which could risk the spread of the virus as thousands of families and children are released from federal custody into border communities and travel across the United States.

The Biden administration is struggling to respond to the escalating situation on the U. S.-Mexico border, where about 20,000 people were encountered illegally entering the country each week in February. Border officials are able to send adults immediately back to Mexico, but they cannot return children and some families.

Several border lawmakers are concerned that the government will not test migrants in federal custody before letting people out of custody in communities across the border, where migrants will board buses and flights and then embark to their final destinations around the country.

Border Patrol agents look over migrants for symptoms of COVID-19, but the Border Patrol itself cannot administer rapid coronavirus tests and has not tested anyone.

“[Customs and Border Protection] personnel conduct initial inspections for symptoms or risk factors associated with COVID-19 and consult with onsite medical personnel, the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), or local health systems as appropriate,” Customs and Border Protection, an agency of the Department of Homeland Security that oversees the Border Patrol, told the Washington Examiner in a written statement.

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The Border Patrol cannot legally force anyone in custody who is suspected of having the virus to stay in custody for a 14-day quarantine period. Instead, agents have been instructed to refer migrants suspected of being coronavirus-positive to “local health systems,” which CBP noted “could be any local health authority, hospital, health facility, etc. depending on the area.”

Immigrant advocacy groups, nonprofit organizations, and local governments have instead been tasked with running tests as a result of the Biden administration’s inaction.

“Since the pandemic began, there's been a huge effort on the part of nonprofit organizations working with local governments to provide rapid response tests,” said Andy Carey, the executiv... (Read more)

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