One day after Governor Greg Abbott announced that he would lift the mandate for the entire mask and open all businesses to 100%, the governor turned his attention to the coronavirus that is spreading along the Texas-Mexico border.
“The Biden administration is recklessly releasing hundreds of illegal immigrants who have COVID in Texas communities,” the governor said in a March 3 tweet. “The Biden Admin. Must immediately end this callous act that exposes Texans and Americans to COVID.”
According to an NBC News article from March 2, 108 asylum seekers in Brownsville tested positive for COVID-19 by testing quickly while waiting for buses to other U.S. cities. The city of Brownsville is conducting these tests on migrants after they were released by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. On March 2, the 108 positive cases represent about 6% of all tests the city has done since the city began testing on January 25th. Although the city can refer infected migrants to non-governmental organizations for quarantine, it does not have the authority to prevent people from traveling through the country.
The NBC News article was picked up the next day by Fox News and the New York Post and prompted Abbott’s tweet on March 3 about COVID-positive migrants endangering Texas communities.
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Abbott continued this attack in the days that followed, first during a TV interview with KPRC-TV in Houston, then in an interview with CNBC, and again in another tweet in which he said the state denies the federal government’s request for assistance with the investigation, testing and quarantine of migrants.
“The unscrupulous act of the Biden government to release COVID-positive illegal immigrants into our state is endangering the lives of Texans and Americans,” he tweeted. “Border security is strictly federal responsibility.”
At a Tuesday news conference at the border, Abbott urged the Biden government to increase U.S. immigration and customs enforcement funding, which is responsible for testing and detaining anyone crossing the border.
A negative coronavirus test is required by the federal government before they have access to the US. While U.S. customs and border protection investigations are being conducted, “COVID-19 cases are suspected to be referred to local health systems for appropriate testing, diagnosis and treatment,” the agency said. a statement.
Felipe Romero, a spokesman for the city of Brownsville, confirmed that the city was quickly testing every person who dropped off Border Patrol at the city’s bus terminal. The 108 positive cases reported by NBC News on March 2 rose to 204 on Tuesday, or about 12% of the total tested.
Romero said there are two categories of migrants released to the city’s bus terminal: asylum seekers entering after the revocation of the Trump administration’s Remain policy in Mexico, and those arrested at the border and allowed in to stay the country. pending hearings on immigration court, a policy that critics derogatoryly described as ‘capture and release’.
Let’s look at each category to determine the accuracy of Abbott’s tweet.
Biden policy that allows migrants to stay in the US
In February, Biden’s government announced that it was dismantling much of the immigration policy introduced by former President Donald Trump. The first phase of the reform began with the processing of the 25,000 asylum seekers who were forced to remain in Mexico under Trump’s migration protection protocols.
On February 19, federal authorities began processing up to 300 people a day at three different border crossings – two in Texas, in Brownsville and El Paso, and one in California, according to the Associated Press.
Because Abbott’s statement focuses on the release of ‘hundreds of illegal immigrants’ in Texas, this fact check focuses on the intersections in Brownsville and El Paso. While the city of Brownsville reported 108 positive cases among migrants released by Border Patrol, the city of El Paso said zero positive cases were identified through its rapid testing program. El Paso’s tests are provided by the city and administered by non-governmental organizations, a city spokesman said.
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The second major policy shift that migrants are releasing in Texas communities is the reinstatement of the Obama-era policy that enables asylum seekers to stay in the U.S. while awaiting court dates. The policy was suspended in 2018 by the Trump administration. The revived policy allows some families arrested by Border Patrol to be released in the US while awaiting their asylum proceedings. Not all migrants arrested get this privilege; many are driven to their countries of origin.
While asylum seekers previously detained under the remnants of Mexico policy are processed in specific communities, those released under the revived Obama-era policy can be released anywhere along the border. However, the number of tests issued under this policy is unknown, and according to Border Report, there are concerns that not everyone is tested before traveling elsewhere in the US to wait for court dates.
It is unclear what real numbers form the basis of Abbott’s claim that ‘hundreds of illegal immigrants’ were released with COVID-19 in Texas. A spokesman referred us to the 108 migrants in Brownsville who were reported by NBC News and did not respond to questions about how Abbott came to an estimate of ‘hundreds’.
‘Illegal immigrants’ against asylum seekers
Abbott’s statement characterizes the status of migrants released by U.S. customs and border protection in U.S. communities.
“Illegal immigrants” are migrants who have entered the country without legal permission. All the migrants released by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, on the other hand, have applied for asylum and have a legal claim to stay in the U.S. while awaiting their asylum proceedings.
The use of the two terms is inaccurate, said Andrea Meza, director of family detention services for the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, or RAICES.
“These people are asylum seekers, and so it is misleading based on their approach, which is not related to their legal ability to seek asylum,” Meza said.
Our verdict
Abbott said the Biden government is releasing “hundreds of illegal immigrants” infected with COVID-19 into Texas communities.
According to a spokesman, the claim is based on news reports that 108 migrants released by Border Patrol tested positive in Brownsville. While the number has since risen by more than 200 positive cases, it was well below ‘hundreds’ at the time of Abbott’s tweet.
Abbott also characterizes the status of migrants released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection by calling them ‘illegal immigrants’. They are asylum seekers who have notices to appear in court.
We review this claim Mostly False.