A Democratic lawmaker who represents a border district warned the Biden government against slowing down unauthorized immigrants too much, citing their impact on their constituents, local hospitals and their potential to spread the coronavirus.
Why does it matter: Deputy Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) told Axios that he supports President Biden. But the moderate said he sees the disadvantages of efforts to placate pro-immigrant groups, an effort that threatens to explode in the government.
- “You just can’t say, ‘Yes, yes, let everyone in’ – because then we are affected at the border, “Cuellar told Axios on Saturday.
The big picture: Border crossings are increasing. Hospitals in the Vale do Rio Grande region are already occupied. Border Patrol has less capacity than normal.
- Cuellar hopes the government will continue to use a Trump-era public health order to quickly expel migrant adults and families, at least during the pandemic. Activists called for Biden to end the use of politics, called Title 42.
- He said smugglers are likely to use the shift in immigration tactics from the Trump administration to Biden to convince migrants to come to the U.S. “The bad guys know how to commercialize it,” said Cuellar.
- Some immigrants are being allowed to enter the country without taking the COVID-19 test first – a concern for some non-governmental organizations that care for them, said Cuellar.
- He complained about the contradiction between the release of some unauthorized immigrants to border communities and, at the same time, the closure of legal travel across the border. Many local companies depend on Mexican buyers for 50% to 75% of their sales, he said.
Cuellar is not the first Democrat in Texas to alert the Biden administration to the impact of the growing number of immigrants on border communities.
- Facing the climate emergency in Texas, Del Rio Mayor Bruno Lozano shot the president in a video this month: “I am begging and asking you to end any measures related to the release of immigrants.”