As coronavirus spreads in\nthe Southwest, the Border Patrol is quickly turning back illegal aliens who\nenter the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under expedited deportation<\/a> procedures, migrants are being expelled to Mexico in an average of 96 minutes. U.S. agents are processing aliens from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras \u201cin the field\u201d before migrants can set foot inside a Border Patrol station. The migrants are then escorted back to the border and sent into Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said Monday that unaccompanied minors<\/a> who arrive at the border can be returned to their origin country instead of being handed over to the Department of Health and Human Services, which is typically charged with their care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe goal is to minimize the exposure to the alien, agent and\nour country,\u201d a CBP official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mexico said it would accept returns from the United States on a\n\u201ccase by case\u201d basis and that the process would involve medical screenings. But\nas a practical matter, U.S. officials said Mexican authorities are accepting\nnearly all of the expelled migrants from those four nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a case that predates the coronavirus outbreak, the U.S. Supreme Court<\/a> is weighing the legality of expedited deportations. This week, the Trump administration announced that U.S. immigration courts<\/a> will stop hearing asylum cases until further notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the administration closed<\/a> America\u2019s southern and northern ports of entry to non-essential traffic last month, Mexican borderlands\u00a0loom as a prime breeding ground for coronavirus<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Though Mexico lags the U.S. in the number of cases, officials\nthere announced on March 24 that COVID had moved to a new phase and was spreading\nunchecked in communities. Still, Mexican authorities have yet to implement\nmeasures for distancing and isolation at crowded migrant camps along the\nborder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n