The Biden team is no longer immunizing migrants imprisoned at the southern border before their release into the nation, according to the agency and a vaccine provider employed by the U.S. government.

According to Tom Douglas, vice president of government relations at Universal Healthcare, the federal government stopped immunizing illegal immigrants against COVID-19 and the flu in September of last year, right as the flu winter season was starting.

“We will cease operations in September 2023,” Douglas said over the phone.

CBP confirmed to us that immigrants are no longer eligible for COVID-19 or flu vaccines. According to CBP, AMI’s subcontractor, Universal Healthcare, sealed the deal on a government contract that was previously with AMI.

Douglas countered that it is imperative that the government not only restart these immunization programs but also ramp them up in light of the ailments that are occurring locally and associated with migrants crossing the border.

This is now more than simply a matter of public health. A breach in national security has occurred. Given the frequency of these now-eradicated infections, COVID and influenza are essentially unavoidable. Douglas said over the phone this week that we ought to be talking about TB, the mumps, and the measles. “We cannot remain inactive forever. A rapid and inexpensive vaccination is the best medical instrument available to us is a vaccination that is both rapid and inexpensive.

The Chicago Health Department reported on March 4 that it has linked 64 confirmed cases of measles to the city’s hundreds of migrant housing facilities. Since then, the city has funded the immunization of almost 26,000 immigrants and some Chicagoans against the measles.

Authorities in Chicago verified cases of tuberculosis (TB) among recently arrived migrants from the southern border in April.

Chicago, though, is hardly an exception. Sanctuary towns, which are primarily states in the north or along the coast that refuse to turn over immigrants detained for non-immigration violations to federal authorities for deportation proceedings, are where most migrants who cross the border and stay for years before appearing before an immigration court end up.

As a result of the influx, many of these areas are facing additional difficulties, including how to house, employ, feed, and handle public health issues related to the millions of people who have come since 2021.

Millions of migrants are mostly reliant on buses and commercial airplanes, and they are free to utilize any kind of public transportation. The Biden administration has instructed the Border Patrol to detain and then release these migrants. The DHS has not made public the exact number of migrants allowed into the country.

According to a January report from California’s Department of Public Health, the state saw a “substantial” rise in tuberculosis cases between 2019 and 2023.

Ashwin Vasan, the New York City health commissioner, wrote to medical specialists in August 2023, stating that “many folks who just arrived in NYC had lived in or traveled through places with a high prevalence of TB.”

New York City spent $28 million in September 2023 to hire forty doctors to help the city detect and get ready for emerging diseases, including “polio and Ebola” and new strains of COVID-19.

The migrants that the Border Patrol seized lacked regular vaccinations against illnesses other than the flu, such as TB or measles.

Receiving, detaining, transferring, or releasing migrants within three days of their apprehension is the responsibility of the federal law enforcement organization Border Patrol. The intended function of organizational facilities is not long-term dwelling.

Out of the roughly 2 million migrants imprisoned last year, the Border Patrol admitted to the Washington Examiner that there was only one verified case of measles; however, the agency did not disclose the extent to which it checks migrants for illnesses or diseases.

“CBP officers and agents prioritize the health and safety of all people they encounter,” a CBP spokeswoman said. “They routinely collaborate with emergency medical services to help those in need, providing adequate medical care and humanitarian relief when needed.”

“First, Border Patrol agents examine migrants for general medical issues.”Over 1,300 hired medical specialists thoroughly examine all migrants after their transportation to processing stations.

Around the end of 2019, left-wing groups scheduled a protest outside a Southern California Border Patrol post. Protesters arrived at the facility to give people and children vaccinations. They claimed to be medical professionals, representing Never Again Action, Families Belong Together, and Doctors for Camp Closures.

Three children in federal immigration custody died of the flu the year prior. At the time, CBP told the Washington Examiner in a statement that “doing a vaccination program is not practical.”

This is deliberate harshness. Dr. Marie DeLuca stated, “People are dying and suffering needlessly,” according to a news release from the groups. “Wide vaccination is not unique, and there is a technique to prevent flu mortality.”