Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez said more than 2,000 asylum seekers have entered the United States through the Brownsville port of entry.
Mendez said over 700 migrants were part of the Migrant Protection Protocols program, also known as the Remain in Mexico Policy, while a little over 2,000 have entered as asylum seekers.
“The overwhelming majority are family units and leave the city within 24 hours,” he said.
Mendez said the city is helping to process these individuals with the help of local non governmental organizations like Team Brownsville and the Good Neighbor Settlement House.
“These organizations help the migrants with food and sometimes assist to pay for travel out of the city,” he said. “
Additionally, the city is advising all Covid positive individuals to quarantine under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and referring them to hotels that will house them.”
The city tests the asylum seekers for COVID-19 when they are released in Brownsville. The mayor said the positivity rate is about 6 percent.
“In fact, this rate was also below the 9 percent positivity rate for the State of Texas when the Governor chose to remove the mask mandate,” he said.
When it comes to the new governor’s orders of face masks not being mandatory anymore and businesses being able to operate at 100 percent capacity, the mayor said he believes it is too soon.
“I do believe it is too soon, but I’m glad businesses are allowed to keep these protocols in place,” he said.
“I have faith that we will continue to protect ourselves and each other by exercising our ability to wear a mask. The governor’s concerns about spread among asylum seekers runs counter to his removal of the mask mandate.”
The Biden Administration announced they will be directing the Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] to assist in processing the children and teenagers that are in detention facilities as they seek asylum.
The assistance will be directed to provide food, water and basic medical care as well as shelter space for the young asylum seekers.
“The best approach is to treat them with kindness and human dignity during their short time in our city,” Mendez said.
“We should continue to help process them as quickly as we can and use as little public resources as possible while assisting them to arrive at their final destination promptly. Certainly for those who are asked to quarantine, we should also ensure that they are following the recommended guidelines.”
