No evidence migrants at border significantly spreading virus

Two HHS contractors in Texas who were not authorized to speak to the media say the positivity rates for children are generally 8% or below, which is lower than the current statewide test rate. Children who test positive are isolated until they are clear of the virus.

The infection rates for all arriving immigrants are lower than for Texas as a whole, local officials and nonprofit groups serving those families say.

In the border city of Brownsville, Mayor Trey Mendez said last week that about 6% of immigrants tested positive at the local bus station. In McAllen, Sister Norma Pimentel of the local Catholic Charities chapter said around one family in a group of 100 people typically tests positive and is directed to isolate in a local hotel.

Both Cameron and Hidalgo counties — where Brownsville and McAllen are located — currently have test positivity rates of about 10%.

Many cities and local groups need more help as more immigrants arrive, hoping their chances of entry to the U.S. are better under the new administration.

In Del Rio, a nonprofit group called the Val Verde Border Humanitarian Coalition received nearly 200 people in the first few days of March alone, after receiving more than 460 people in all of February.

Dr. Ivan Melendez, the health authority in Hidalgo County, said now about 10 people a day are dying there instead of 50. He criticized Abbott for lifting the mask mandate but said the arrival of migrants is also a concern.

“The reality of it is you cannot have an influx of thousands of people in your community during a pandemic,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a longtime border Democrat from Laredo, Texas, criticized the Biden administration for rolling back some Trump-era immigration policies too quickly and opening more holding facilities too slowly.

“Once you’re the president, you own the failure or you own the success,” he said.

But Cuellar also criticized people “who try to invoke fear" about immigrants, particularly children.

“If you’re afraid of a little kid, a 7-year-old, then I think you fear your own shadow,” he said.