CNN was criticized on Thursday for accusing Texas Governor Greg Abbott of alleging “without evidence” that migrants could expose Texans to coronavirus, after officials said this week that more than 100 illegal immigrants had tested positive and were allowed to travel freely.
“The Biden government released immigrants in southern Texas who exposed Texans to Covid,” Abbott, a Republican, told CNBC.
“After easing Covid’s state restrictions this week, Abbott claimed, without evidence, that migrants arriving in Texas are exposing the state’s residents to coronavirus,” reported CNN.
108 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED BY THE BORDER PATROL IN TEXAS POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS, EMPLOYEES SAY
Even so, several media outlets, including CNN in the same article that accused Abbott of making an unsubstantiated claim, reported that more than 100 illegal immigrants released after their arrival at the border tested positive for coronavirus.
Felipe Romero, an officer in Brownsville, Texas, told Fox News that the 108 positives represent 6.3% of the total number of migrants who have undergone rapid testing at the city’s main bus station, where they are being released by the Border Patrol.
He added that Brownsville has no authority to prevent those who test positive from traveling elsewhere.
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Critics of CNN’s framing attacked the media on Twitter, with a conservative user calling it “one of the most dishonest articles I’ve seen in a while.”
CNN made the headline of its party history: “The governor of Texas, Abbott, paralyzed the federal offer to test migrants and then blamed them for spreading Covid.” The lack of concern for migrants who may spread the coronavirus seemed incongruous with CNN rebuke Abbott this week for fully opening up the state and reversing his mask mandate.
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President Biden referred to Texas and Mississippi that revoked their masquerade mandates as “Neanderthal thinking”.
Greg Norman and Griff Jenkins of Fox News contributed to this report.