A group of lawmakers forwarded correspondence last week to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel regarding southern border circumstances.
Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) spearheaded the effort to address the agency’s, citing reports of illegal immigrants infected with COVID-19 being released into the country without being quarantined and the infiltration of terrorists at the border.
“It is time for President Biden to take accountability for the worsening border crisis his own policies created,” Duncan wrote. “My colleagues and I have sent a letter to CBP and ICE leadership requesting direct answers to the many troubling reports on illegal immigrants infected with COVID-19 being released into our country and terrorists attempting to infiltrate large waves of migrants at the southern border.”
Duncan indicated the matter is one of national security.
“We, therefore, ask for the following information be provided to Members of Congress as soon as possible,” Duncan concluded. “How many COVID-19 positive illegal immigrants has Customs and Border Protection released into the United States in 2021?; since January 1, 2021, what are the countries of origin of those who have been apprehended at the southern border and approximately how many of each such country of origin were apprehended?; how does the data requested above compare to the equivalent statistics from 2011-2020?; and which countries of origin are seeing higher than average apprehensions, and which countries have seen a decrease?”