DHS Secretary Mayorkas Confirms Border Crossers Released into U.S. Without Being Tested for Coronavirus

by JOHN BINDER 18 Mar 2021

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas confirmed to lawmakers this week that the agency has released border crossers into the United States without testing them for the Chinese coronavirus.

During a hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday, Mayorkas fielded questions about the number of border crossers released into the U.S. interior since the start of the Biden administration and how many have tested positive for coronavirus.

Mayorkas, though, did not divulge any data and instead told lawmakers he would follow up to get them the numbers. To date, DHS officials have refused to disclose the number of border crossers the agency has released into the U.S. interior, though sources have put the total well into the thousands.

In one exchange, Mayorkas admitted DHS had been releasing border crossers without testing them for coronavirus, confirming previous reports.

Subsequently, small towns like Brownsville, Texas along the southern border have had to test the border crossers at their own expense.

“There were instances in which individuals were released,” Mayorkas said. “You mentioned Brownsville and that is an example of that.”

Earlier this month, reports circulated that DHS was releasing border crossers who then tested positive for coronavirus and, still, were not required to quarantine. Instead, many of the border crossers continued traveling throughout the U.S. while carrying the virus.

Now, Mayorkas claims DHS is testing border crossers for coronavirus “as needed.” Previously, DHS officials said only migrants enrolled in the now-defunct Remain in Mexico program were required to test negative for coronavirus before their release.

Regardless of coronavirus testing, Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to President Joe Biden’s restart of the Catch and Release program by ending Remain in Mexico and cooperative asylum agreements with Central America. The latest Harvard/Harris Poll found that almost 7-in-10 U.S. voters said border crossers should be returned to Mexico.

The admission comes as sources have told Breitbart News that Mayorkas, along with other top DHS officials, are advocating to stop applying to migrant families the Center for Disease Control’s Title 42 order that has prevented thousands of border crossers from being released into the U.S. interior.

The latest DHS data reveals that since October 2020, nearly 327,000 border crossers have been expelled at the southern border thanks to Title 42. In February, alone, more than 72,000 border crossers were expelled under its authority.

Federal immigration officials apprehended almost 100,000 border crossers in February, an increase of 170 percent compared to the same time last year. The total number of illegal aliens who successfully crossed the border, undetected, since October 2020 has surpassed 118,000, Breitbart News exclusively reported.

https://www.breitbart.com/immigratio...d-coronavirus/