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Experts weigh in on claims of COVID-19 variants spreading at the southern border

On Wednesday, Gov. DeSantis said the Biden administration needs to get control of the border to stop the spread of COVID-19 variants during a press conference.

TAMPA, Fla — After a back and forth exchange about COVID-19, it's clear President Joe Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis disagree about the handling of the virus. 

On Wednesday, DeSantis said the Biden administration needs to get control of the border to stop the spread of COVID-19 variants during a press conference. Firing back a day after President Joe Biden shared his disapproval of Florida's response to the coronavirus pandemic.  

Despite DeSantis' claim, variants of the virus are spreading at the southern border, public health experts say they haven't seen any data to back it up.

"My most recent understanding is that the Gamma variant is coming out of Colombia, through South Florida, into Miami, and it's not coming through illegal immigration. It's coming through people actually coming to the country legally," Dr. Jay Wolfson with USF Public Health said. 

Wolfson says he has seen some data indicating that some of the people coming in from the Mexican and the Arizona border may be at high risk, and he hopes they're being routinely tested and quarantined when they test positive.

Since the Biden administration took office, thousands of people have arrived at the southern border monthly. But, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the number of people being turned away and expelled is up. 

"They're expelling the majority of the immigrants," Martin Schwartz, an expert in immigration and civil law said. 

He says the Biden administration has been using Title 42 to do it. The law is a Trump-era COVID pandemic policy that boots undocumented immigrants from the country without court hearings. The policy is meant to slow the spread of coronavirus at holding sites.

"The policy that was instituted by Trump actually separated many parents from their children, some of those parents and children who have not yet been reunited. President Biden has allowed in some reunification of some families with children, but the policies not being carried out in a fair manner," Schwartz said.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended the policy, citing concerns over the spread of the virus, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups are going back to court to stop the use of the public health law, saying it "restricts immigration at the border based on an unprecedented and unlawful invocation of the public health service act."

When asked what he thought of a lawsuit being filed, Schwartz said the policy was discriminatory.

"We're gonna have people coming in from the Mexican and Canadian border and they're going to be expelled because of COVID. What about all the immigrants that are coming into the airport? You know someone can come over here as a tourist or a student, and they're not being expelled. So in that way, it's discriminating against certain countries, and a lot of it is political," Schwartz said.

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