Fox News is known for reporting that confirms its biases without providing nuance. So here are two stories about this situation to broaden our understanding a bit.
Some hypocritical faux outrage by Governor Abbott, blaming illegal immigrants for spreading Covid, when he has just opened up the whole state. The positivity rate is lower among the immigrants than in the TX population.
After Lifting Covid Restrictions, Gov. Greg Abbott Claims Undocumented Immigrants Are Spreading Virus In Texas
“The Biden Administration is recklessly releasing hundreds of illegal immigrants who have COVID into Texas communities,” Abbott
tweeted.
One day after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R)
eliminated most of his state’s coronavirus restrictions, the governor claimed immigrants released into his state by federal authorities are helping to spread the virus.
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The governor’s office did not offer any evidence for the claim, but he might be referring to reports from
Telemundo and
Fox News this week on migrants who were released into the border city of Brownsville who subsequently tested positive for the virus (an Abbott spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment).
Brownsville spokesperson Felipe Romero told Forbes 108 migrants tested positive after being dropped off in his city between Jan. 25 and March 1, or just over three per day, a positivity rate of 6.3% — he told Telemundo these migrants were
advised to quarantine.
By comparison, Texas as a whole has reported around 294,000 confirmed coronavirus cases between Jan. 25 and March 1, and in recent days, the state has
averaged about 4,800 daily cases at a
positivity rateof just under 9%.
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That being said, on the other hand, I would like to know why the Customs and Border Patrol is not testing and holding immigrants who test positive instead of dumping them on Brownsville where they don’t have the power to retain them.
After Border Patrol release, asylum-seekers test positive for Covid in Brownsville, Texas
The city of Brownsville administers these rapid tests at the bus station, after migrant families are released by the Border Patrol. A spokesperson for Brownsville confirmed that, since they began doing these tests Jan. 25, 108 migrants have tested positive for Covid-19, which is 6.3 percent of those who took the test.
Noticias Telemundo Investiga asked Customs and Border Patrol about the release of migrant families and Covid-19 testing. A spokesperson said in an email that
CBP personnel conduct initial inspections for symptoms or risk factors associated with Covid-19 and consult as appropriate with onsite medical personnel, the CDC or local health systems.
Suspected Covid-19 cases "are referred to local health systems for appropriate testing, diagnosis, and treatment," according to CBP.