Border Patrol union official warns COVID-positive migrants being released into US ‘day in, day out’

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Border Patrol agent claims DHS releasing migrants with COVID into border towns

Border Patrol union vice president Chris Cabrera on rising coronavirus cases among migrants and how the Department of Homeland Security is dealing with the issue

A top Border Patrol union official is warning that agents are having to release COVID-positive migrants into the U.S. "day in, day out" -- amid the ongoing crisis at the border, which also has Border Patrol agents worried about their own health.

"Not everyone we encounter we test, only those that exhibit some type of symptoms and not everybody has symptoms that has it," Chris Cabrera, a vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, said Saturday on "Fox News Live." 

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"And we’re releasing people out of the door day in and day out with actual positive tests for COVID and more keep popping up," he said.

Cabrera also warned that his sector alone has seen 20,000 apprehension of migrants at the border, with 2-3,000 every day just in the area -- and that doesn’t take into consideration those who are evading overwhelmed Border Patrol agents.

As a result, Cabrero warned that a number of agents have been quarantined or are sick with the virus

"We have a lot of agents quarantined right now, which adds to our problem, on top of agents who are sick with COVID, so we’re concerned about catching it ourselves, we’re concerned about our families and coworkers and it just seems everyone's turning a blind eye to it when we have a real situation down here," he said.

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More than 188,000 migrants were encountered in June alone, taking the number of migrants encountered this fiscal year to more than a million. While more than 100,000 of those resulted in expulsions under Title 42 public health protections, the U.S. is releasing many migrants, including family units, into the U.S.

That has sparked anger from governors and local officials in states affected, who are concerned about the potential spread of COVID at a time when the Biden administration is warning about the effects of the delta variant.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered state troopers to pull over vehicles transporting migrants as a way to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In turn, the Justice Department has sued Texas, having claimed the move was dangerous.

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Meanwhile the Department of Homeland Security this week resumed flights to Central America for migrants who are deemed not to have a valid asylum case.

Cabrera, meanwhile, warned that Border Patrol agents are struggling with the crisis which shows only increases in numbers at the border each month.

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"Manpower is very low, we’re stretched very thin and it's difficult when the administration doesn’t care what's going on down here," he said.