Trump: Administration 'very strongly' considering closing southern border amid coronavirus outbreak

Source: The Hill | February 29, 2020 | J. Edward Moreno

President Trump said the administration is “very strongly” considering closing the southern border to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“We are looking also at [the] southern border,” Trump said when asked by a reporter at a White House press conference Saturday about the move. “We have received a lot of power on the southern border over the last couple years from the courts, but we are looking at that very strongly.”

At the press conference, Vice President Pence, who Trump announced on Wednesday would be leading the administration’s response to the virus, announced that the State Department would impose travel restrictions and advisories on Iran, South Korea and Italy, some of the countries hit hardest by the virus. 

Hours before remarks to the press, Reuters reported that the administration was considering closing the southern border in an effort to contain the virus. 

On Friday, a group of 11 Republicans led by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) called on the administration to close the U.S. border with Mexico to prevent an outbreak.

“Given the porous nature of our border, and the continued lack of operational control due to the influence of dangerous cartels, it is foreseeable, indeed predictable, that any outbreak in Central America or Mexico could cause a rush to our border,” they wrote.

The letter came the same day a U.S. district court blocked the administration’s “remain in Mexico policy,” meaning asylum-seekers could again await their cases on U.S. soil. 

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