CDC Extends Rule Allowing Immediate Expulsion of Migrants on US Border Due to COVID-19

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a press release that it has extended the Trump-era policy authorizing immigration enforcement to immediately turn away undocumented migrants on the United States' borders as part of an effort to control the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an order... that temporarily suspends the introduction of certain noncitizens based on the Director’s determination that introduction of such noncitizens, regardless of their country of origin, migrating through Canada and Mexico into the United States creates a serious danger of the introduction of COVID-19 into the United States, and the danger is so increased by the introduction of such noncitizens that a temporary suspension is necessary to protect the public health," the release said on Monday.

Although US President Joe Biden kept Trump's policy to expel undocumented migrants with COVID-19 symptoms, undocumented migrant children who arrive at the border without a legal guardian are exempt from the rule, which has contributed to a record number of them being held in US facilities.

Of more than 180,000 migrants apprehended in May – the highest monthly total in more than 20 years - more than 110,000 were returned using the health measure, according to Republican Senators.