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Q&A Of The Day - Are Migrants Bused Into Florida Contributing To Florida’s Surge In COVID-19 Cases?
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
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Today’s entry: Hi Brian, there seems to be a high incidence of Covid-positive cases in illegal border crossers. Since 70% of crossers are heading for Florida, is there any way of determining how much, if any, of Florida’s increase in Covid positivity is due to this problem?
Bottom Line: You raise a good point/question and in fact my dad was asking me the same thing over the weekend. Just one note prior to diving into what happens with border crossers and the potential impact to Florida. We do know that approximately 70% of migrants interdicted by Florida’s 50 law enforcement professionals working at the southern border in Texas have been bused to Florida. We don’t know what the overall total is among all migrants caught and released by Border Patrol. That said, there’s no question migrants being bused in could be contributors to Florida’s summer surge in COVID-19 cases which now has our state on par with total cases with where we were a year ago. Here’s a breakdown of the current COVID-19 protocol with border crossers.
Border Patrol Agents in the field don’t administer COVID-19 tests but they do commonly determine whether migrants receive them. If agents observe symptoms, they’re recommended for testing at the processing centers they’re first sent to which arrange for documents and legal papers (notice to appear). According to Customs and Border Patrol: CBP personnel conduct initial inspections for symptoms or risk factors associated with COVID-19 and consult with onsite medical personnel. So yeah, it really is that loose and asymptomatic carriers are likely never to be detected. Now, those who are tested and are positive are quarantined at the non-profit processing centers working with DHS. All others are quickly bused to their end destinations.
One of the most notable sources on information regarding migrants being bused across the country, while potentially being COVID-19 positive, comes from Democrat Congressman Henry Cuellar. His district encompasses the Rio Grande Valley. The Biden policy critic said: Migrants are illegally crossing, potentially exposing border communities to the coronavirus and putting us at risk. Once the Border Patrol releases them, then they have the notice to appear and they can go anywhere in the U.S. So yes, unless Border Patrol can identify symptoms of all carriers, which of course is absurd – we're likely literally busing COVID-19 positive migrants into Florida. How many? There’s no way to know. Here’s what we do know though. Overall positive tests for COVID-19 at that very Rio Grande Valley Sector have risen 900% in July. It stands to reason that if the rise in cases that were detectable have risen so dramatically this month, the number of migrants who’re positive but not tested have also risen significantly.
There are many important dynamics which shifted when the Biden Administration ended the Trump-era program to keep southern border asylum seekers in Mexico until their cases were heard. As part of what’s called the “Migrant Protection Protocol”, the United Nations administered COVID-19 tests to every migrant prior to gaining entry into the United States. There’s no question Biden’s reckless border policies are contributing to the increase in COVID-19 cases in Florida and across the country. There’s just no way to currently quantify it - which further speaks to the recklessness of Biden’s actions.