Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas acknowledged Thursday that his department is struggling to handle the surge of illegal immigrants with COVID-19, saying they are “stretched” beyond what their facilities and plans were built for.
It was a stark admission for Mr. Mayorkas, who has repeatedly rejected calling the unprecedented border surge a “crisis,” but who said during a visit to the border in Texas that they are fighting to deal with a rising rate of COVID-positive migrants.
“Our capacity to test, isolate and quarantine the vulnerable population that makes a legal claim for asylum is stretched,” he said. “The extent of the challenge should not be understated, but nor should our ability to meet it.”
The mayor in McAllen, a Texas community at the heart of the surge, reported the positivity rate among migrants it is seeing is above 15% at this point.
There are so many migrants being caught and released in deep southern Texas that some are being bussed out to other communities, including Laredo.
Mayor Pete Saenz said his community can’t handle that kind of pressure amid the pandemic. He said the city doesn’t have the capacity to test and quarantine, and the non-governmental organizations in the region can handle some, but not the 200 a day. He said the residents are already so slammed by the virus that they can’t afford to compete with migrants for hospital beds.
“It’s gotten to the point now that any other population that comes into our community is truly, truly fighting for a bed in the city of Laredo,” he said. “Our people should have a preferential right.”