DHS to Hold Mass COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic for Border Patrol Agents in Texas: Gov. Abbott

Border Patrol agents apprehend illegal immigrants who have just crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States near McAllen, Texas, on April 18, 2019. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will hold a mass vaccination clinic next week in the Rio Grande Valley to vaccinate Border Patrol agents in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott and National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) Brandon Judd said in a joint statement on Friday.

Abbott and Judd said that agents had been left vulnerable and exposed to COVID-19, the disease the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus causes.

“We are glad to hear that the Biden Administration is finally stepping up and holding a mass vaccination clinic next week for Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley who had been left vulnerable and exposed to COVID,” they wrote in the statement.

They added that they had to publicly request the federal government provide vaccines for Border Patrol agents.

Border Patrol agents apprehend a busload of illegal immigrants in Penitas, Texas, on March 10. 2021. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

“It is unfortunate that, after months of inaction, we had to publicly call on the federal government to protect these brave men and women and provide the necessary vaccine allocations. These agents risk their lives every day on the front lines of our nation, and they deserve the same level of commitment from those they serve.”

We look forward to the Biden Administration following through and fully vaccinating each and every Border Patrol agent in Texas.”

Illegal aliens cross the Rio Bravo to get to El Paso, Texas, from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico, on Feb. 5, 2021. Herika Martinez/AFP via Getty Images

Since late January, officials said that more than 100 illegal immigrants that were released into Texas by Border Patrol agents had tested positive for the CCP virus.

Felipe Romero, a spokesperson for Brownsville, Texas, told Fox News that 108 illegal immigrants tested positive for the CCP virus since Jan. 25—when rapid testing began. That represents about 6.3 percent of the total illegal immigrants who were rapid-tested at Brownsville’s bus station, the official said.

Officials at the DHS, the agency that oversees the Border Patrol, didn’t immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

Romero told Fox that the city doesn’t have the authority to illegal immigrants who test positive for the virus from traveling anywhere else in the United States, although officials have advised them to quarantine and follow federal health guidelines.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report