Immigrants from West African nations experiencing an Ebola virus outbreak have been caught crossing the border illegally, according to a union official that represents agents for the United States Border Patrol.
This has been an ongoing problem. During fiscal year 2013, Border Patrol agents caught 112 immigrants crossing illegally from Guinea, 231 from Liberia and 145 from Sierra Leone, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security website.
These three countries are subject to a level three travel restriction issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which “urges all US residents to avoid nonessential travel” into this area, according to its website.
Chris Cabrera, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council Local 3307 in the Rio Grande Valley, told KGBT Action 4 News that the illegal immigration from these countries continues to this day.
“Not too long ago we did catch some people, I believe, from Liberia,” he told the station. “Our main concern like it’s always been is the health and safety of our agents.”
But he noted that Border Patrol agents aren’t medical professionals, and have suffered health problems from contact with illegal immigrants in the past.
“Some of our agents did contract scabies, and some of the other things that illegal aliens had. Luckily it’s not something deadly like Ebola,” Cabrera said.
Watch the following news report, via KGBT Action 4 News. Story continues after clip.
KGBT’s Nadia Galindo received numerous replies after she initially broke the story on Twitter. Here are a few examples:
@jessicanunez4l @Nataly_Mai only flame throwers can solve this…
— Duke Silver (@EmilioLion) October 3, 2014
Of course, there’s no real need to sneak across the border. Although Air France, British Airways and Persian Gulf carrier Emirates have suspended flights from West African countries, travel remains unrestricted to the United States.
And there’s little if any scrutiny of travelers arriving from these countries, according to CNN anchor Erin Burnett, who tweeted on Tuesday, “CNN crew returned from Liberia. US customs said ‘welcome home’. No Check.”
National Review contributing editor Jim Geraghty wondered why the United States is continuing open flights from Ebola stricken countries, then answered his own question in this tweet.
I guess we’ll stop all flights to & from the Ebola outbreak countries if they do something dangerous like bomb Hamas. http://t.co/YhZyCQ84yk
— jimgeraghty (@jimgeraghty) October 2, 2014
Political correctness will be the death of us.
