The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump intends to stop detaining people who illegally crossed the border with Mexico and immediately return them to their homeland, the New York Times reported.
According to the newspaper, the administration believes that such a measure is necessary to combat the Coronavirus pandemic, as many migrants crossing the border are already sick or do not have documents proving that they are healthy.
According to the administration, the checkpoints will remain open to U.S. citizens, green card holders and foreigners with the necessary documents. In addition, these checkpoints will be open for commercial traffic.
Earlier it was reported that the number of those infected with coronavirus in the U.S. exceeded five thousand and at least 100 people died. In Mexico, 82 cases of infection have been recorded.
On March 11, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the new coronavirus COVID-19 a pandemic. More than 179 thousand people in more than 150 countries are already infected in the world, most have recovered, more than 7.4 thousand have died.