A top Border Patrol union official is warning that agents are having to release COVID-positive migrants into the U.S. “day in, day out” — amid the ongoing crisis at the border, which also has Border Patrol agents worried about their own health.
“Not everyone we encounter we test, only those that exhibit some type of symptoms and not everybody has symptoms that has it,” Chris Cabrera, a vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, said Saturday on “Fox News Live.”
“And we’re releasing people out of the door day in and day out with actual positive tests for COVID and more keep popping up,” he said.
Cabrera also warned that his sector alone has seen 20,000 apprehension of migrants at the border, with 2-3,000 every day just in the area — and that doesn’t take into consideration those who are evading overwhelmed Border Patrol agents.
As a result, Cabrero warned that a number of agents have been quarantined or are sick with the virus
“We have a lot of agents quarantined right now, which adds to our problem, on top of agents who are sick with COVID, so we’re concerned about catching it ourselves, we’re concerned about our families and coworkers and it just seems everyone’s turning a blind eye to it when we have a real situation down here,” he said.
More than 188,000 migrants were encountered in June alone, taking the number of migrants encountered this fiscal year to more than a million. While more than 100,000 of those resulted in expulsions under Title 42 public health protections, the U.S. is releasing many migrants, including family units, into the U.S.
That has sparked anger from governors and local officials in states affected, who are concerned about the potential spread of COVID at a time when the Biden administration is warning about the effects of the delta variant.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/border-patrol-official-covid-migrants-released-day-in-day-out