During his “C’Mon Now!” podcast episode on August 2, Bryan Preston described the immediate danger of Joe Biden’s “COVID hotels.” He discussed the recent reporting disclosing the federal government’s use of Texas motels near the border to house illegal immigrants infected with COVID.
The Biden administration didn’t tell state or local governments that infected illegals were housed in their communities. They also are not being quarantined but are allowed to roam freely. In La Joya, Texas, the police department discovered a group of infected illegals in a Whataburger restaurant next to a busy highway.
Because the extent of the federal government’s use of American hotels to house COVID-positive illegal immigrants is unknown, the threat goes far beyond Texas to the country’s entirety.
Last week, Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott took action. He signed an executive order prohibiting government officials from transporting illegal immigrants across the state. His order also authorizes state police to detain vehicles suspected of transporting infected illicit migrants and then forcing those vehicles to return the illegal immigrants to a port of entry at the border.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland threatened Gov. Abbott with federal litigation and other unspecified actions if he refused to rescind the order immediately. Gov. Abbott refused to back down, and Garland caused a federal lawsuit to be filed on July 30 in El Paso. In the case against the State of Texas and Gov. Abbott, the U.S. seeks to invalidate the governor’s executive order so that it can continue secretly moving infected illegal migrants into undisclosed locations inside Texas.
On August 3, the federal court heard arguments from attorneys for the U.S. and Texas regarding the federal government’s request for a temporary restraining order. The judge granted the request and stayed the executive order until a full evidentiary hearing on August 13 was scheduled.
The attorneys for Texas defended the order as a measure intended to control the spread of COVID-19 in the state. The federal government argued that the order disrupts national immigration policy and leads to Texas state police racial profiling of illegal immigrants.
According to court records, the federal government spends more than $200 million per year contracting with private organizations to transfer migrants from overcrowded border facilities. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement department have at least 20 contracts with transportation companies in Texas alone. Personal carriers travel over 8,000 miles each day, transporting illegal immigrants within Texas.
The Justice Department filed documents with the court contending that states cannot restrict how the federal government handles immigration policy.
At the next hearing, the court is expected to hear testimony from witnesses and to examine other evidence to decide whether to extend the restraining order until the entire trial of the matter is scheduled.
