The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not requiring all border crossers to get tested for the Chinese coronavirus before releasing them into the United States, the agency confirmed to Breitbart News.
A DHS spokesperson responded to a question from Breitbart News about whether President Joe Biden supported mandatory coronavirus testing for border crossers released into the U.S. interior.
“As Customs and Border Protection always has, it adjusts resources as needed to meet the demand at the border and regularly screens individuals for signs of health issues when they are encountered, including COVID-19,” the spokesperson told Breitbart News. “Anyone who shows signs of illness receives the appropriate medical treatment.”
The response confirms that untested border crossers are continuing to be released into the U.S. interior as long as they are not exhibiting coronavirus symptoms.
On the other hand, DHS officials have said that migrants enrolled in the now-defunct Remain in Mexico program, set to be released into the U.S. interior this month, will have to undergo coronavirus testing. Internal communications reviewed by Breitbart News, though, show no mentions of this requirement.
“Individuals processed through this program will be tested for COVID-19 before entering the United States,” the administration confirmed.
Most border crossers apprehended and released at the southern border also appear to enjoy a less stringent testing standard that even foreign travelers to the U.S. experience.
Shortly after he was inaugurated, President Joe Biden signed an executive order requiring foreign travelers to the U.S. “to the extent feasible” to produce a negative test for the coronavirus prior to entry and to either isolate or quarantine themselves for several days after they arrive.
This week, Breitbart News reported that 25,600 migrants enrolled in the Remain in Mexico program are to be released into communities in El Paso and Brownsville, Texas, and San Diego, California. The mass release effort comes after Biden ended the program despite its effectiveness in drastically reducing asylum fraud.
Data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University (TRAC) has previously revealed that about 85 percent of asylum cases by Central Americans are rejected and a total of nearly 70,000 migrants were returned to their native countries after not meeting asylum requirements since the program was created.
The TRAC data found that tens of thousands of migrants actually gave up on their asylum cases while they waited in Mexico because they were aware that their claims were not valid. By December 2020, more than 31,000 migrants had left Mexico and returned to their native countries without having their cases heard.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki claimed last week that the U.S.-Mexico border was “not open” during an exchange with Breitbart News even as at least 2,000 border crossers have been released into the U.S. interior between February 1 to 10. Tens of thousands more are expected to be released in the coming months.