Democrat Border county Judge Richard Cortez recently issued a statement calling on the Biden Administration to stop releasing migrants who test positive for coronavirus into border town communities. He said these “ill-conceived policies” are having serious consequences in his jurisdiction, which is Hidalgo County. He asked President Biden and federal immigration officials to stop releasing infecting migrants into the community.
“We now face a potential crisis because of the federal policy of releasing infected migrants into our community, coupled with the state policy that prohibits us from implementing essential safety measures. This is unacceptable,” Cortez said.
Cortez posted his statement after the La Joya Police Department announced that a hotel in the county was being used to house migrants who had tested positive for the virus. They had been released by U.S Border Patrol and granted hotel stay by the Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley.
But officers recently responded to a call from a Whataburger location in the area after complaints that a group of migrants was not following any sanitary measures. A family was seen coughing and sneezing without covering their mouths and were not wearing face masks. An officer approached the family and was told that they had been apprehended by Border Patrol and released because they were sick with COVID-19. They were eventually asked to leave the restaurant.
It was also reported that a group of 20-30 people staying at the hotel were out and about, with a majority of the time mask-less.
Cortez acknowledged that they have seen a “greater number of immigrants crossing into Texas” but refused to support a state disaster declaration over the surge. He said they have not reported the levels of criminal activity that would require a disaster proclamation. Others, such as Republican activist Monica De La Cruz Hernandez, argued back that there shouldn’t need to be a “crime wave” to get a disaster declaration. Hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens entering the country during the pandemic are enough and that a disaster declaration would’ve helped the area.
Cortez went on to say that they’ve been doing well as a community to stop the spread but warned that infected migrants continue to be placed in local hotels without notice.
Sister Norma Pimentel, who runs the Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley even said a security guard was hired at the hotel just to keep the migrants inside. A recent Immigrations and Customs Enforcement report has recorded over 21,000 COVID-19 cases within their detention facilities so far.
Cortez claims he is sympathetic for asylum-seekers but said they needed to address migrant needs in a manner that doesn’t put their communities at risk. You know things are getting really out of control when even sensible Democrats start abandoning Biden Administration policies because they know he’s gone too far.
The flood of illegal immigrants continues to pour into the country and the Biden Administration seems unphased. President Biden continues to threaten more school closures, COVID-19 deaths, and business shutdowns if you don’t get the jab or wear a mask. Even though he’s the one helping the spread.
