Biden admin pressed on enforcing COVID-19 tests as more migrants test positive

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The recommendations and protocols for coronavirus testing on migrants entering the United States -- particularly at the Southern border -- are coming under scrutiny as a wave of migrants makes its way toward the U.S. hoping for friendly treatment by the Biden administration.

This comes as the number of migrants who are testing positive for the coronavirus after being released by Border Patrol into Texas has increased steeply, according to officials. 

Felipe Romero, a spokesperson for Brownsville, Texas, told Fox News this week that 185 migrants dropped off and rapid-tested at the city’s main bus station have contracted the coronavirus – up from the 108 he disclosed last Wednesday.  

Migrants at the Southern border wear shirts with Biden's campaign logo on them, that say "please let us in."  (Reuters)

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Federal guidance is for individuals entering the United States who test positive for the coronavirus to isolate, although sources at the White House told Fox News it is aware of instances where those guidelines may not be followed. 

Fox News on Wednesday and Thursday directed inquiries to multiple federal agencies about what the rules and enforcement related to the virus are for those coming into the United States, particularly at the Southern border. 

The CDC told Fox News it "recommends that participants of the MPP are tested before entering the United States." The MPP is the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the "remain in Mexico policy."

But the CDC referred Fox News to the State Department "for information on requirements for immigrants and asylum seekers."

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The State Department provided Fox News with information on health protocols for those involved with the MPP. A fact sheet published last month notes that face masks and physical distancing are being enforced among migrants who are being brought to the United States as the MPP is drawn down.

It also said that health screening is being provided and that MPP participants are being tested for the virus before being brought across the border.  "[I]n most cases," the fact sheet said, those tests happen within 24 hours of individuals entering the United States. 

Migrants approach the American border on Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville, Texas, on March 2, 2021. President Biden announced he was ending the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP) enacted under President Trump that sent asylum seekers back to Mexico as they awaited their trial dates. (SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images)

On questions about policies at the border for those coming into the United States either on foot or by car, legally or illegally, the State Department referred Fox News to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

After this story was published, a CBP spokesperson replied to Fox News with information.

Asked about the policy for testing immigrants at the Southern border who may have been huddling in close quarters before entering the United States, the spokesperson replied: "CBP uses a combination of onsite contract medical personnel and referrals to local health systems to provide medical support for persons in custody who require medical attention."

"CBP personnel conduct initial inspections for symptoms or risk factors associated with COVID-19 and consult with onsite medical personnel, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), or local health systems as appropriate," the spokesperson said. "Onsite medical personnel can provide basic assessment and supportive treatment, but suspected COVID-19 cases are referred to local health systems for appropriate testing, diagnosis, and treatment. These COVID-19 procedures are consistent with longstanding CBP procedures for preventing the spread of communicable diseases."

Asked if those entering the U.S. on foot or via car subject to the same coronavirus testing requirements as air passengers entering the U.S., the spokesperson said, "CBP continues to closely follow the CDC’s COVID-19 guidelines at U.S. ports of entry."

White House press secretary Jen Psaki has emphasized that the Biden administration is following the law on who may and may not be let into the United States at the Southern border. 

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"The majority of people that come to the border will be turned away," Psaki said Tuesday, repeating a statement she’s made in the past to assure that a more lax border policy was not allowing a free-rein inflow of migrants.

Republicans have been critical of the White House's handling of the situation at the border as it's declined to call it a "crisis."

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wrote in a letter Wednesday to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., calling for a hearing on the deluge of migrants to the Southern border. 

"There is a crisis on the southern border. It is in fact a full-blown emergency," Hawley said. "[W]hile every administration has the right to pursue policy changes within the parameters set out in statute, when those changes result in elevated levels of unrestricted, illegal border crossings, then it’s critical that the administration provide an explanation to Congress and to the American people."

Fox News' Greg Norman, Griff Jenkins and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.