COVID-19 cases among illegal immigrants at the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) border increased by 900 percent.
Fox News first obtained the report from RGV Border Patrol managers. In the first two weeks of July, 135 detainees tested positive for the virus. Compared to the last 14 months, that number is a 900 percent increase. According to Border Patrol reports, the RGV sector accounts for 60 percent of all COVID-19 infected detainees.
Migrants are not often tested by Border Patrol upon arrival, rather the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or NGOs provide testing after being taken into custody. The report follows Texas Governor Greg Abbott sued the Biden administration for releasing border crossers with COVID-19.
In June, FBA reported, “Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general, writes, ‘President Biden’s outright disregard of the public health crisis in Texas by welcoming and encouraging mass gatherings of illegal aliens is hypocritical and dangerous.’ The influx of immigrants at the southern border has led to unprecedented rates of criminal arrests, the smuggling of drugs, and the trafficking of humans. These conditions led Governor Greg Abbott to secure the border without federal assistance.”
