Abbott overstates concerns on migrants, COVID-19
The claim: “The Biden administration is recklessly releasing hundreds of illegal immigrants who have COVID into Texas communities. The Biden admin. must IMMEDIATELY end this callous act that exposes Texans & Americans to COVID.” — Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
Politifact rating: Mostly False. A spokesperson said that the claim was based on news articles reporting that 108 migrants released by Border Patrol had tested positive in Brownsville — well below “hundreds” at the time of Abbott’s tweet. That number has risen to 210 positive cases as of March 15, a 7 percent positive test rate that is slightly higher than the statewide rate of 5.9 percent.
Abbott also mischaracterizes the status of the migrants being released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection by calling them “illegal immigrants.” They are asylum seekers holding notices to appear in court.
Discussion
One day after Abbott announced he would lift the statewide mask mandate and allow all businesses to open to 100 percent capacity, the governor turned his attention to the coronavirus spreading along the Texas-mexico border.
Abbott continued this line of attack in the subsequent days, first during a TV interview with KPRC-TV in Houston, then in an interview with CNBC, and again in another tweet in which he said the state denied the federal government’s request for help in screening, testing and quarantining migrants.
“The unconscionable act by the Biden administration of releasing Covid-positive illegal immigrants in our state
puts the lives of Texans and Americans at risk,” he tweeted. “Border security is strictly a federal responsibility.”
Abbott has urged the Biden administration to increase U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement funding, which is responsible for testing and detaining anyone crossing the border.
A negative coronavirus test is required by the federal government before entry to the U.S. While U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducts screenings, “suspected COVID-19 cases are referred to local health systems for appropriate testing, diagnosis, and treatment,” the agency said in a statement.
Felipe Romero, a spokesperson for the city of Brownsville, said that there are two categories of migrants who are being released to the city’s bus asylum seekers entering after the repeal of the Trump administration’s Remain in Mexico policy, and those who have been apprehended at the border and allowed to remain in the country pending immigration court hearings, a policy derogatorily described by critics as “catch and release.”
In February, the Biden administration announced that it was dismantling many of the immigration policies put in place by former President Donald Trump. The first phase of reform began by processing the 25,000 asylum seekers who had been forced to remain in Mexico under Trump’s Migrant Protection Protocols.
On Feb. 19, federal authorities began processing up to 300 people per day at three different border crossings — two in Texas, in Brownsville and El Paso, and one in California, according to the Associated Press.
Because Abbott’s statement focuses on the release of “hundreds of illegal immigrants” in Texas, this fact-check focuses on the crossings in Brownsville and El Paso. While the city of Brownsville reported 108 positive cases among migrants released by Border Patrol, the city of El Paso said that zero positive cases have been identified through its rapid testing program. El Paso’s tests are being supplied by the city and administered by nongovernmental organizations, a city spokesperson said.
The second major policy shift releasing migrants in Texas communities is the reintroduction of the Obama-era policy that allows asylum seekers to remain in the U.S. while awaiting court dates. That policy was suspended by the Trump administration in 2018. The revived policy allows some families who are apprehended by Border Patrol to be released in the U.S. as they await their asylum proceedings. Howterminal: ever, not all apprehended migrants are awarded this privilege; many are expelled to their origin countries.
While asylum seekers formerly held under the remain in Mexico policy are processed in specific communities, those who are released under the revived Obama-era policy could be released anywhere along the border. However, the number of tests administered to people released under this policy is unknown and, according to Border Report, there are concerns that not all are being tested before they travel elsewhere in the U.S. to await court dates.
It’s unclear what actual numbers form the basis of Abbott’s claim that “hundreds of illegal immigrants” carrying COVID-19 are being released in Texas. A spokesperson referred us to the 108 migrants in Brownsville reported by NBC News and did not respond to questions asking how Abbott arrived at his estimation of “hundreds.”
Abbott’s statement mischaracterizes the status of migrants who are being released into U.S. communities by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“Illegal immigrants” are migrants who have entered the country without legal permission. All of the migrants being released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, on the other hand, have applied for asylum and have a legal claim to remain in the U.S. while they await their asylum proceedings.
Using the two terms interchangeably is inaccurate, said Andrea Meza, director of family detention services for Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, or RAICES.
“These folks are asylum seekers, so criminalizing them based on their manner of entry, which is not related to their legal ability to seek asylum, is misleading,” Meza said.