Texas Gov. Abbott bans ground transport of potentially infected migrants into communities

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order Wednesday banning the ground transportation of migrants who are potentially infected with COVID-19 into communities within the state.

The move comes amid rising coronavirus cases among migrants detained at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Governor Greg Abbott today issued an Executive Order restricting ground transportation of migrants who pose a risk of carrying COVID-19 into Texas communities,” the governor’s office said in a release.

“The Executive Order also directed the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to stop any vehicle upon reasonable suspicion of such violation and reroute such vehicles back to its point of origin or a port of entry. DPS also has the authority to impound a vehicle that violates the Executive Order.”

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The Texas Republican added that the “dramatic rise in unlawful border crossings has also led to a dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases among unlawful migrants who have made their way into our state, and we must do more to protect Texans from this virus and reduce the burden on our communities.”

Earlier this month, Fox News reported that coronavirus cases among migrants in the Rio Grande Valley section of the southern border has surged 900%.

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This week, the police department in the Texas border town of La Joya warned residents that the border patrol was releasing illegal immigrants infected with the coronavirus into their town and placing them in hotels paid for by charity organizations.

Many conservatives have criticized the Biden administration’s for urging Americans to continue taking coronavirus-related precautions while illegal immigrants continue to pour across the border, including almost 190,000 in June alone.

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“Joe Biden, I have a question for you for health purposes: Why don’t you issue orders to secure the southern border so we can make sure people coming across don’t have the virus and aren’t spreading it in the United States?” Fox News host Mark Levin asked earlier this week. “Why don’t you do that?”

Governor Abbott has made several moves to address the crisis at the border in recent weeks including sending the National Guard in to help with law enforcement efforts as well as launching a plan to construct his own border wall.