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The White House said on Monday it would reconsider policies put in place by President Donald Trump “that avoided scientific integrity” – while at the same time being criticized for health protocols at increasingly migrant settlements. more crowded at the border.
Biden had requested a review in January, asking for recommendations to guide future scientific discoveries, and the White House announced Monday that it would be headed by the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy.
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“The OSTP Scientific Integrity Working Group will undertake a whole-of-government, forward-looking review of science in federal agencies, in part by examining practices that have been antithetical to this mission over the past four years – including Trump-era policies that eschewed scientific integrity in favor of politics, ”an office spokesperson said in a statement.
In a memo, the agency said it will review policies to determine whether they prevent inappropriate political interference, prevent the suppression or distortion of information, support diversity among scientists, and advance equitable delivery. government programs.
It’s unclear what specific policies will be reviewed, but President Trump has sparked controversy for statements that appeared to conflict with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines – including on masks, testing and d ‘other precautions.
However, the announcement of the review comes just as the Biden administration has come under fire for dropping some social distancing measures and an alleged failure of tests with respect to migrants arriving at the border.
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Customs and border protection encountered more than 100,000 migrants in February and those numbers are expected to rise significantly in the coming months. CBP has more than 5,000 unaccompanied children in detention, while the Department of Health and Human Services has more than 11,000.
In response to the crisis, the administration told settlements for migrants they could open at 100% capacity, even while keeping other COVID prevention measures in place.
Health and Human Services later said in a statement to Fox News that, “based on guidance from the CDC, [HHS’ Office of Refugee Resettlement] has informed the facilities that they can temporarily reactivate their capacity within the limits of their full authorized capacity up to safe occupancy levels. “
“The same instruction applies to inflow installations until the ORR [Office of Refugee Resettlement] and the entrepreneur decides to be safe for the influx. In either case, the reactivation of the beds should be done in such a way as to maintain a safe and healthy environment for [unaccompanied children] and staff, ”the statement read.
This controversy has intensified in recent days, as images have been released showing crowded conditions, with children side by side, and have led to sharp criticism from Republicans and others.
“This is inhuman, it is false and it is the direct consequence of the political decisions of the Biden administration to stop building the wall, to return to the catch and release and to end the policy of stay in Mexico “said the senator. Ted Cruz, of R-Texas, said at a press conference Friday.
In addition, the administration has been criticized for not testing the children at CBP facilities, although it later tests them at other facilities.
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“We do not carry out tests at border patrol facilities,” an administration official said last week. They are only tested when they are “transferred” to other admission facilities operated by departments like the HHS and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the official said.
CBP told Fox News in a statement last week that it “uses a combination of on-site contract medical staff and referrals to local health systems to provide medical support to people in detention who require medical attention.”
“CBP staff perform initial inspections for symptoms or risk factors associated with COVID-19 and consult with on-site medical staff, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or local health systems depending on the case. Medical staff on site can provide basic assessment and supportive treatment, but suspected cases of COVID-19 are referred to local health systems for appropriate testing, diagnosis and treatment, ”a spokesperson said. “These COVID-19 procedures are consistent with long-standing CBP procedures for preventing the spread of communicable diseases.”
But the scenes shocked pundits and Republicans alike.
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“Any indoor gathering where people congregate closely without masks is a risk,” said Marty Makary, Fox News contributor and professor of public health and management at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. “The pandemic is not over and contexts like these threaten progress in reducing transmission.”
Representative Van Taylor, R-Texas, who visited the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, said the children were much closer there than the Biden administration’s health guidelines.
“They’re not socially left behind. They sleep from head to toe,” Taylor said.
A CDC spokesperson told Fox News that facilities run by agencies such as the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) are more child-friendly than CBP sites.
“Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities are currently housing an increasing number of people, including children, and this is contributing to an increased risk of COVID-19 outbreaks in these communities,” a door said. – CDC speech to Fox News. “To reduce the risk of an outbreak, the CDC has recommended additional mitigation precautions at these ORR facilities as they increase capacity, including testing, masking, isolation, and quarantine space for those with the disease. of COVID-19. “
In response to a Fox News investigation, a White House spokesperson also said that “we have continued to find a variety of solutions to try to alleviate conditions there” and that the administration aims to speed up. efforts to reunite children with their families. .
Republicans blamed the migrant surge on President Biden’s swift overthrow of Trump-era border protections. But Biden in turn blamed Trump for shutting down parts of the asylum system.
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“It has, in fact, closed the number of available beds,” Biden said at a press conference last week. “He didn’t fund HHS to get people to take kids out of these border patrol facilities, where they shouldn’t be and not supposed to be for more than a few days. But he dismantled it all.”
“And so what we’re doing now is trying to rebuild – rebuild the system that can adapt to what’s going on today,” he said.
Fox News’s Tyler Olson and Lea Brittany contributed to this report.
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