2nd Texas Border City Probes Catholic Charity for Releases of Migrants with COVID

A second city near the Texas border is scrutinizing a charity run by the Catholic Church for releasing COVID-19 positive migrants into their community.

On Thursday afternoon, the City of Weslaco issued a statement revealing that several COVID-19 positive migrants were being housed in a local hotel. The migrants were released from federal custody and booked at the Texas Inn in Weslaco–the same hotel chain involved with a large group of COVID-19 positive migrants in La Joya.

The hotel rooms are paid for by Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, a group that runs a migrant shelter in McAllen.

In response to an investigation by authorities, the City of Weslaco requested a meeting with the charity to review their COVID quarantine protocols so the surrounding community is not impacted.

“Providing us with further information can save lives,” said Weslaco Mayor David Sanchez in a prepared statement. “We take this matter very seriously and our priority in Weslaco has been and continues to be the health and wellness of our community.”

Weslaco is the second city to call out the housing of sick migrants in their communities. Earlier this week, the City of La Joya released a health alert over a similar incident. The case began when police responded to a Whataburger where sick migrants were eating and sneezing. When police officers spoke with them, they claimed to have been released by U.S. Border Patrol and were staying at a Texas Inn nearby. According to La Joya Police, the hotel was paid for by Catholic Charities of the RGV.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.