Biden administration will begin offering COVID-19 vaccines to illegal immigrants

The Biden administration will offer COVID-19 vaccines to migrants who have been taken into custody at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The plan, which has been confirmed by the Department of Homeland Security, could extend to thousands of illegal immigrants who come cross the U.S. border. 

DHS says it will initially be able to provide up to 2,700 vaccines per day, and increase that figure to 6,000 daily by the end of May. 

Officials are currently preparing for an influx of migrants at the border as the administration moves to reevaluate a Trump-era pandemic emergency rule called Title 42, which allows authorities to turn away migrants arrested at the border. 

As discussions about terminating the rule have picked up steam, so have concerns about a potential surge of virus cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will in the coming days release its latest assessment of the situation. 

At present, individuals who are encountered at the border and sent back to Mexico – under the Trump-era "remain in Mexico" policy – are being offered COVID vaccines. 

"The effort to vaccinate those in our care and custody, which is a public health best practice, has been ongoing for many months," DHS recently said about the policy. "DHS has already taken steps to offer COVID-19 vaccines to non-citizens in (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) custody.

"In order to further safeguard public health and ensure the safety of border communities, the workforce, and migrants, DHS will expand these efforts and begin providing age-appropriate COVID-19 vaccines to non-citizens taken into CBP custody at the Southwest land border who are determined to be inadmissible pursuant to Title 8," a federal statute that addresses immigration and nationality.

Initially, the administration rejected a proposal to vaccinate illegal immigrants arriving at the border, worried that it would encourage more to show up.