Border Patrol agents plagued with illnesses spread by waves of incoming migrants
June 17, 2019 | Frieda Powers
Waves of illnesses plaguing detained migrants in holding centers are now affecting Border Patrol agents as well.
Holding facilities in the Del Rio and El Paso regions of Texas are not only seeing an “unprecedented†number of illnesses among detainees, agents are now falling victim to the various diseases migrants have brought with them or contracted in the crowded quarters, the Washington Examiner reported.
While fears are high over the possibility of an asylum-seeking migrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo exposing others to Ebola, union representatives for Border Patrol agents reveal it is the many other illnesses affecting detainees in centers along the southern border that are an immediate concern.
“Scabies, chickenpox — we had one case of the mumps here in Uvalde. I wanna say we had measles — plenty of the flu, plenty of colds, body lice, just assorted. And some of these things, they spread like wildfires when you get into a cramped holding cell. It happens,†Jon Anfinsen, a National Border Patrol Council vice president, said.
“It’s not so much the workload. It’s the constant illnesses. We have a lot of agents who are sick. The other day I talked to agents from four different stations. And every single one of them had a cough,†Anfinsen, who represents about 1,000 agents, added.
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https://www.bizpacreview.com/2019/06/17/border-patrol-agents-plagued-with-illnesses-spread-by-waves-of-incoming-migrants-766062
