Illegal Immigrant Crossings Destabilize U.S. Efforts To End Pandemic

Illegal border crossings spiked in September, and infected migrants threaten to spread untraceable coronavirus cases.

“The Trump administration’s approach to border enforcement has been going on long enough that people understand that their chance of gaining (legal) admission into the United States is very slim,” National Immigration Forum director Ali Noorani reportedly said. “But there is still something happening in Central America and Mexico that is leading them to make this decision.”

Thousands-strong caravans lured by the promise of sanctuary cities forced the Trump Administration to call up National Guard and regular military units to support border patrol officers who were swamped as they arrested 977,509 illegals during fiscal year 2019. That fiscal year ended in September with a shape decline to 400,651. Completing nearly 400 miles of the border wall and implementing the “Remain in Mexico” policy cut the number of illegal crossings more than in half. However, apprehensions are on the rise again.

“As the economic conditions are worsening in Mexico and the entire Western Hemisphere due to COVID, get ready,” Customs and Border Protection chief Mark Morgan reportedly said. “We’re already seeing the numbers increase.”

According to COVID-19 tracking reports, Mexico suffers more than 4,300 new cases daily and between 300 and 400 deaths on average. The numbers coming out of Central America, where many migrants begin their travel to the U.S. southern border, almost mirror those figures. Considering testing efforts in Mexico are far below the U.S. and relatively non-existent in many parts of Central America, the number of infected migrants spreading the virus could be off the charts.

As the U.S. elections draw closer, Central Americans have begun organizing massive caravans unlikely to follow any of the CDC guidelines to slow the virus. Some suspect that Democrat operatives such as George Soros are again funding caravans to create political disruption. Regardless of who is behind this coronavirus crisis, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador expressed concerns the caravans were politically motivated.

“It seems very strange to us. It’s very strange that this caravan leaves on the eve of the election in the United States,” President Obrador said. “It has to do with the election in the United States. I don’t have all the elements, but I think there are indications that it was put together for this purpose.”

Mexican authorities are determined to stop the latest migrant caravans from crossing its southern border and infecting towns and villages as untested Central Americans trek thousands of miles. During the first week of October, illegal border crossing by mostly young men surged along the border of Honduras into Guatemala. Mexican officials are unsure how many slipped past border security and how many carry the sometimes deadly virus.

Immigration experts speculate that the recent surge in migrant activity and large caravans were prompted by Joe Biden declaring he would loosen immigration restrictions. As undocumented migrants sneak across the U.S. southern border, health officials will be unable to contain or trace infections they cause.