EXPLAINER: How do border policies affect US infection rates?

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PHOENIX – As the delta variant fuels an summation of COVID-19 cases successful the U.S., immoderate of President Joe Biden's critics blasted the surge connected his borderline policies, which let immoderate migrants to participate the state to use for asylum.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis past week accused Biden of “helping to facilitate” the dispersed of the coronavirus. Fox News big Sean Hannity referred to migrants causing “the biggest super-spreader event” and incorrectly asserted that nary was being tested.

But nationalist wellness experts accidental arriving migrants are not driving the rising infections successful the U.S. The main culprits are radical who garbage to get vaccinated. Furthermore, migrants who are allowed to participate are mostly tested for COVID-19 and fixed edifice rooms to quarantine if they trial positive, though national authorities person not made information disposable astir specified cases.

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WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MIGRANTS ARE STOPPED AT THE BORDER?

It varies, but astir azygous adults are turned away, portion unaccompanied children and immoderate families are admitted to prosecute asylum claims. This signifier is successful keeping with the Biden administration's continued usage of Title 42, a nationalist wellness regularisation adopted by the Trump medication astatine the commencement of the pandemic.

In June, the astir caller period with available figures, Customs and Border Protection stopped azygous adults 117,602 times, resulting successful 96,704 expulsions, oregon 82% of the total. Families were stopped 55,805 times astatine the borderline successful June, with lone 8,070 expulsions, oregon 15%. (Since immoderate radical effort to transverse much than once, these numbers notation to stops, not idiosyncratic people).

Families who are allowed to participate the U.S. to use for asylum are fixed dates to look successful migration tribunal oregon an assignment with migration authorities. After they are dropped disconnected successful borderline communities, families typically question to reunite with relatives, friends oregon supporters.

Children who get without parents are exempt from expulsion. They are typically held for little than a period astatine exigency shelters until they tin beryllium released to relatives oregon moved to licensed shelters.

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ARE MIGRANTS WHO ARE NOT EXPELLED TESTED FOR COVID-19?

Generally, yes. CBP, the bureau that archetypal takes migrants into custody, says they are fixed masks and referred to section wellness attraction providers for investigating and attraction if they person symptoms.

From there, investigating protocols tin alteration depending connected which national bureau is involved. Most azygous adults and immoderate families are transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, wherever they each instrumentality COVID-19 tests.

All caller arrivals are separated from the wide colonisation for 14 days and isolated if they trial positive. Unaccompanied children are besides tested earlier they are transferred to Health and Human Services Department facilities for minors, and past are fixed ongoing tests.

Some migrant families are released to borderline communities straight from CBP facilities, and this is wherever the government's accusation is little clear. The authorities says it works with section partners and “appropriate agencies” to trial this colonisation and quarantine those who are infected, but it has not clarified if that happens crossed the board. Often, section governments oregon nonprofits put investigating and nonstop those who trial affirmative to isolate successful hotels.

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HOW MANY MIGRANTS TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID-19?

The national authorities has not disclosed this data, but successful Texas’ Rio Grande Valley — the busiest agelong of the borderline for amerciable crossing attempts — section officials precocious publicized their ain data.

On Aug. 4, section officials successful McAllen, Texas, announced that retired of astir 88,000 migrants released by CBP successful the metropolis since mid-February, much than 7,000 had tested affirmative for COVID-19, which is simply a positivity complaint of much than 8%. Positive tests became much predominant successful caller weeks, surpassing 16% — a complaint that region officials said was akin to the section population.

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WHAT DO PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY IS FUELING THE INCREASE IN CASES IN THE U.S.?

The cardinal factors down the caller spike successful COVID-19 cases are radical successful U.S. communities who are unvaccinated and are not pursuing guidance from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention astir the highly contagious delta variant, according to nationalist wellness experts.

At a quality league past week, Dr. Ivan Melendez, who serves arsenic the section wellness authorization successful Hidalgo County, Texas, acknowledged that arriving migrants were “part of the problem” but helium besides said they did not airs immoderate much of a information than helium does. "I person been successful 7 COVID units today.”

He said migrants are not liable for introducing the microorganism nor bash they person higher corruption rates compared with the wide population.

“Is it a pandemic of the migrants? No, it is simply a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Melendez said.

The fig of arriving migrants is acold excessively tiny to beryllium driving the tremendous increases successful cases crossed the U.S., said Dr. Joseph McCormick, a doc and erstwhile CDC epidemiologist present based astatine the Brownsville field of the University of Texas Health Science Center astatine the Houston School of Public Health.

“Given what we are seeing present crossed the country, it conscionable doesn’t enactment to effort to property that to migrants,” McCormick said. Furthermore, experts say, the delta variant, which was archetypal identified successful India, began circulating successful the U.S. earlier it was successful Mexico oregon different parts of Latin America, wherever astir migrants get from.

“So the assertion that migrants entering from the confederate borderline brought delta to the U.S. is baseless rhetoric,” said Max Hadler, elder argumentation manager for Physicians for Human Rights, successful a statement. “Rates are expanding everywhere, successful each authorities successful the country. It’s not a borderline contented oregon a migrant issue, it’s a nationalist issue.”

As for radical who evade the Border Patrol and participate the United States undetected, determination is nary crushed to fishy that they would person higher rates of COVID-19 infection, McCormick said.

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HOW DO BORDER COMMUNITIES HANDLE MIGRANTS AS THE DELTA VARIANT SPREADS?

In galore places on the border, section governments and nonprofits person a agelong past assisting migrants coming retired of national custody with food, covering and question arrangements. Local officials accidental the delta variant adds different challenge.

McAllen officials worked with Hidalgo County past week to erect a structure metropolis to quarantine migrants who tested affirmative for COVID-19 and their household members. In different Texas cities, section leaders person expressed vexation with the governor's attack to the pandemic, which has included for blocking section governments from enacting disguise mandates.

Brownsville, Texas, began a programme to vaccinate arriving migrants astir a period agone and has fixed shots to much than 860 migrants truthful far. Similar efforts are happening successful different communities that person migrants, including El Paso and Phoenix.

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DOES THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PLAN TO OFFER VACCINES TO MIGRANTS?

DHS denied caller media reports that national officials are gearing up to connection vaccines to migrants aft they are apprehended astatine the border. However, ICE has begun vaccinating immigrants held successful detention. The authorities has besides started inoculating unaccompanied children who are 12 and older with the Pfizer vaccine.

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