In their scramble to deal with the overwhelming rush, federal officials transferred 200 migrants from the Southern border to the ICE facility in Aurora last month, nearly half of whom are infected with COVID-19, the Denver Post reports.
How could this happen? The New York Times explains how the Biden administration is failing to adequately test for COVID:
More than 170,000 migrants crossed the border in March — many coming from countries still grappling with high infection rates — but the Border Patrol is conducting no testing for the coronavirus during the several days that the newly arrived migrants are in U.S. custody except in cases where migrants show obvious symptoms.
The government says it has insufficient time and space to test migrants upon their arrival. So while migrants get a basic health screening, testing is being postponed until their release to local community groups, cities and counties, usually after the new arrivals have spent days confined in tight spaces with scores of strangers, often sleeping shoulder to shoulder on mats on the floor.
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman is outraged.
U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, who prided himself as chief watchdog over the Aurora facility when Trump was president, is scrambling.
From the Post:
Coffman called the episode “incredibly irresponsible.”
“Under no circumstances should COVID-positive detainees be brought to the Aurora ICE facility,” he said. “They need to be tested at the border and if they test positive for COVID they need to be quarantined, according to CDC guidelines, before they are allowed to be transferred.”
Meanwhile, Crow’s staff tried to blow off the Post with talk of his bill that failed to pass last session dealing with the transfer of detained migrants.
The Post pointed out Crow’s legislation would not have applied anyway in this case.
Crow’s office responded they are looking into stuff.
PeakNation™ will remember when Crow went ballistic on the Trump administration after two cases of chicken pox were reported at the facility and he learned they only had one doctor to treat both detainees.
Crow was literally pounding at the front door to get into the facility and demanding tours.
But now Crow’s staff is hemming and hawing about reintroducing that failed legislation again next week that would do nothing to solve the problems faced at the facility.
They’re no longer talking about Crow’s bill already in the pipeline that would have turned the migrants with COVID loose into the community.