The Biden administration is assembling resources to begin vaccinating migrants being held in the U.S. at the border with Mexico, according to Department of Homeland Security bureaucrats who briefed The Washington Post.
The DHS plans to offer vaccines to people allowed to enter the country while they await a court date and to those awaiting deportation, the Post reported.
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Despite a surge in the number of people arriving at the border, few migrants have been vaccinated against the coronavirus while in custody at DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement complexes so far.
Last month, police stopped migrants trying to enter the U.S. more than 210,000 times at the Mexican border, the highest monthly total in more than two decades, according to preliminary DHS data. In addition, authorities likely detained more than 19,000 unaccompanied migrant children in July, surpassing the previous high set in March. Most migrants enter through south Texas near the Del Rio and the Rio Grande Valley.
Monday, the Biden administration said it would continue enforcing the Trump-era practice of quickly deporting migrant adults and families under Title 42 to avoid overflow at facilities amid COVID-19 outbreaks. Those expelled under this law, however, would not be eligible for vaccination, one source said.
“The rates at which encountered noncitizens are testing positive for COVID-19 have increased significantly in recent weeks,” said assistant DHS secretary David Shahoulian.
The White House prefers to give migrants the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, avoiding the need for a follow-up, both sources revealed about the tentative plan.
As the Delta variant dominates the surge in COVID cases, Texas reported more than 10,000 cases in a single day last week, the highest daily count since February. White House officials hope vaccinating migrants could help slow the spread of the highly contagious variant.
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