This week yielded multiple attempts from Republican legislators to crack down on what they see as massive health concerns at the United States-Mexico border, urging COVID-19 tests for migrants, a field hearing on illegal immigration and border health protections, and increased support for immigration enforcement.
The GOP Doctors Caucus urged the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to mandate COVID-19 testing for migrants before allowing them access to the country. In a letter later posted on Twitter, the caucus pointed to the words of Chief U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Agent Brian Hastings, who asserted that migrant apprehensions have this year crossed 1 million.
Members including U.S. Reps. Greg Murphy (R-NC), Michael Burgess (R-TX), Andy Harris (R-MD), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), and Neal Dunn (R-FL) all dubbed this a major public health risk.
“We are deeply disturbed about the lack of transparency coming from the Biden Administration,” the letter said. “Americans deserve to know whether migrants are being tested for COVID-19 at the border, and if they are not, why on Earth would this be the case?”
They also requested that DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas inform them of the percentage of migrants allowed into the U.S. without a COVID-19 test, the percentage being tested at the border, and why no requirement for a negative COVID-19 result exists before allowing entrance.
At the same time, 20 Republican members of the House Oversight and Reform Committee pressed Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) to host a field hearing in New Mexico to address illegal immigration, COVID-19, and the topic of Title 42 Border health protections. The Biden administration extended those protections, but the signatories criticized its means of implementation, such as restrictions placed on expulsions of certain groups of migrants. They sought to sound an alarm over increasing numbers of illegal entries into the United States.
“We are unable to properly determine the infection status of those that have entered illegally and have been apprehended, let alone those that have escaped,” the members wrote.
Finally, U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) introduced an amendment (S. 3070) to create a fund specifically for immigration enforcement, so long as funding would not increase the national deficit between 2022 and 2031. Moran blasted existing budget efforts as he made his case, as well as the release of thousands of migrants into the U.S. without official court dates.
“The Biden administration’s rollback of immigration laws has not only magnified the humanitarian crisis, but it has left our law enforcement with the impossible task of trying to slow the flow of illegal crossings while also attempting to stop drug, weapon, and human traffickers from entering the country,” Moran said. “My amendment simply states the importance of the Biden administration to enforce the existing immigration laws.”