The border state of Tamaulipas filed a legal complaint against Mexico’s federal government for its alleged inability to protect the migrant population in cities near the U.S. from the pandemic–leaving the task to the states. The move comes as at least 16 migrants in various border cities have tested positive for Coronavirus.
The legal action is called a constitutional controversy, which is filed before the Mexican Supreme Court. The move is meant to force the federal government into action during the pandemic.
The most recent health information shows 16 U.S.-deported migrants testing positive for COVID-19. Six are from Honduras, one from Guatemala, three from Cuba, one from Cameroon, four from Mexico, and one unknown. Of the current cases, 14 were infected at a shelter in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, after the arrival of one migrant who was recently deported from Houston and did not know he had the virus. Authorities are testing 42 more migrants.
According to a prepared statement from the Tamaulipas government, the request of the legal remedy comes after federal officials refused to follow a series of previously agreed accords that called for the relocation of deported migrants away from border areas. State officials also claim that federal authorities do not follow health standards seen worldwide in dealing with migrants and irregular settlements.
State officials claim that the recent increase in deportations adds a sense of urgency.
“The state government has demanded in numerous occasions the intervention of the Federation for the adoption of needed preventive measures to avoid contagion within the migrants and to the Tamaulipas population in the border cities,” a prepared statement from the state government argued.
Tamaulipas and the Mexican federal government signed an agreement in July that classified the state as one that would not be receive deported migrants–who would instead be redirected to federal shelters elsewhere. The agreement came amid controversy over the exploitation of migrants by cartels who turned human smuggling operations into one of their main sources of income.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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