IG Blasts Biden’s Handling of Border Crisis as Surge Overwhelms Del Rio

The Democratic mayor of a Texas border town is pleading with the Biden administration to do more to stop the flood of migrants at the southern border at the same time the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General found that the federal government's failure to test migrants for COVID-19 puts the health of Americans at great risk.

Bruno Lozano, who serves as mayor of Del Rio, Texas, put out a video on Twitter Friday morning warning about the "real time threats" of COVID-19 and "other communicable diseases."

"This is something that really needs to be brought to light," the mayor said. "We need quick action from the administration. We need quick attention to this. We need a response in real-time."

Those health threats were underscored in a government watchdog report on the Biden administration's handling of the migrant crisis. The IG report called out Customs and Border Protection's failure to "conduct COVID-19 testing for migrants who enter…custody" and noted that the White House has not required it to do so. That policy, the IG wrote, puts federal employers' "support staff, communities, and migrants at greater risk of contracting the virus."

Lozano says nearly 11,000 migrants currently sit under the Del Rio International Bridge, with thousands more crossing in every few hours. At the current rate, the number of migrants waiting for processing at the Del Rio International Bridge could soon surpass the entire population of the city, which sits at just under 36,000.

Texas governor Greg Abbott (R.) attacked the federal government's response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Del Rio, noting the lack of proper shelter, health care, and safety precautions for the thousands of migrants in the city.

"The Biden administration is in complete disarray and is handling the border crisis as badly as the evacuation from Afghanistan," Abbott said.

A COVID-19 outbreak among the migrants could prove disastrous for the town of Del Rio. The regional hospital in the area, Val Verde, only hosts seven ICU beds.

According to the IG, the Biden administration never "documented" a "formal policy" for COVID-19 testing of migrants. The sheer volume of migrants crossing the border makes "proper physical distancing in holding facilities" impossible. The crisis grew so dire in the Del Rio sector that the Department of Homeland Security deployed agents from its Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office from March until May.

Despite Lozano's appeals to the White House, DHS leadership told watchdogs the agency's chief medical officer will not finish its "active monitoring and impact analysis of mitigation efforts" against the spread of COVID-19 until Sept. 30, 2022.

https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/ig-blasts-bidens-handling-of-border-crisis-as-surge-overwhelms-del-rio/