Can you guess which nation is excluded? OK, here’s a hint. It’s not a single nation but rather a group of people from mulitple nations. Another clue is that not all of these would-be “visitors” are entering the U.S. through the “front door,” as it were. Some are wading across the Rio Grande at its most shallow points or crossing the border at some other unofficial point.
Yes, they are migrants gaining entry through the southern border. And not only are they largely unvaccinated but many are infected with COVID-19. Even better, some migrants who are intercepted by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are not tested at all before being released from custody and allowed to travel across the United States. On Monday, the Washington Examiner reported via Yahoo! News quoted a CBP official as saying:
They aren’t tested at encounter. [Unaccompanied children] and family units are moved out of custody quickly. If they are infected and do not have obvious symptoms, they are sent out.
Further down, the article notes that since February, more than 280,000 children and parents were encountered at the southern border, and at least 120,000 of those were released into the U.S. Back in March, CNSNews noted that 10% of migrants at two Texas border facilities were COVID-positive, and yet the mass migration continues unabated.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
In the meantime, as though to demonstrate that they have their eye on the ball, “the Biden administration is developing a plan to require nearly all foreign visitors to the United States to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19,” according to Reuters.
The White House wants to re-open travel, which would boost business for the airlines and tourism industry, but is not ready to immediately lift restrictions because of the rising COVID-19 case load and highly transmissible COVID-19 Delta variant, the official said.
*UPDATE* As this post was going to press, a report by the Washington Post came across our desk revealing that the “administration is preparing to begin offering coronavirus vaccine to migrants in U.S. custody along the Mexico border, where illegal crossings are at their highest levels in over two decades.” Note that the administration is planning to offer — not require — that border crossers take the jab. Clearly, its priorities are as mixed up as ever. –Ed.
