At least 108 illegal immigrants tested positive for coronavirus before being released into Texas by Border Patrol
At least 108 migrants from Mexico tested positive for coronavirus before they were released into Texas by the US Border Patrol over the past five weeks, a new report claims.
A spokesperson for Brownsville, the border city where the tests were administered, disclosed the alarming figure to Fox News on Wednesday.
The spokesman, Felipe Romero, said the 108 individuals who tested positive account for 6.3 percent of the more than 1,700 migrants who have received rapid tests at a Brownsville bus station before being released into the state since January 25.
Romero said the positive individuals were advised to quarantine, but officials don't have the authority to force them to do so or to stop them from traveling elsewhere in the US.
The news followed a Noticias Telemundo Investiga (NTI) report which featured interviews with several migrants who said they tested positive for the virus and planned to proceed with their travels to other cities and states regardless.
At least 108 migrants from Mexico tested positive for coronavirus before they were released into Texas by the US Border Patrol over the past five weeks, a new report claims. Pictured: Asylum seekers register for rapid COVID-19 tests in an isolation area at a bus station in Brownsville, Texas, on February 26
Among the migrants who spoke to the outlet was Eva Orellana, a 29-year-old from Honduras who traveled to the US with her three-year-old daughter.
Orellana said she had already purchased bus tickets to get to North Carolina.
'On the way, we were wearing a mask all the time, gel, washing our hands,' she said. 'Really, I don't feel anything.'
Orellana and others who spoke to NTI about their plans to travel to states as far as Maryland and New Jersey said they weren't given documentation stating that they had tested positive.
They said those who tested positive were merely separated from negative individuals while they waited to be released.
'Right now we were tested for Covid and they separated about eight of us because we were positive,' said Miriam Izaguirre, a 35-year-old from Honduras who planned to travel by bus to Houston with her son.
A worker at a bus company that operates out of the station where the tests are being performed told NTI that they are not allowed to ask passengers for proof of results before boarding.
Noticias Telemundo Investiga spoke to several migrants who said they tested positive for the virus and planned to proceed with their travels to other cities and states regardless. Pictured: Asylum seekers embrace at the Brownsville bus station on February 26
The migrants who spoke to NTI about their plans to travel to states as far as Maryland and New Jersey said they weren't given documentation stating that they had tested positive
The release of thousands of asylum seekers along the US-Mexico border is part of President Joe Biden's effort to roll back stringent immigration restrictions set by his predecessor Donald Trump.
Biden's administration has faced criticism over the policy after officials in border towns reported not having enough coronavirus tests for everyone coming through.
White House sources on Wednesday told Fox News they are aware that some migrants who test positive may be ignoring advice to quarantine.
The sources said it was up to state and local governments conducting tests with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to oversee the process and ensure that migrants are informed of federal quarantine guidance.
Romero, the Brownsville spokesperson, said the city advises migrants who test positive to seek assistance from NGOs and non-profits in the area to find shelter where they can isolate.
'The City of Brownsville continues to follow all guidelines provided by the CDC and [Department of State Health Services] for Covid-19,' Romero said.
'The migrants who test positive at the B-Metro facility are advised of quarantine procedures and are asked to socially distance.'
