Transfer of illegals to San Diego halted ... for now

San Diego – Border-security activists are celebrating an announcement by U.S. Customs and Border Protection that flights carrying illegal aliens from Texas to San Diego County have been suspended, but warn an outbreak of scabies among undocumented Central Americans already processed and released poses a health danger to their communities.

Since last week, three flights carrying a total of 420 border-crossers – mostly women and children – have arrived in the San Diego area. Most have been processed and released. A fourth with 140 aliens was scheduled for Thursday, but that flight has reportedly been cancelled.

Gabe Pacheco, a Border Patrol agent in San Diego and a union spokesman, said agents are now going to rely on existing technology that allows agents to process migrants in Texas using video equipment, reported the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Two senior Border Patrol sources confirmed to WND that, of those released, more than 100 have been diagnosed with scabies, and five border agents have been infected as well due to their contact with the illegals. Multiple cases of fever have been documented among children, as well as several cases where children were coughing up blood. Tuberculosis is suspected in those cases. Also reported, but unconfirmed, were possible cases of the H1N1 virus.

The temporary warehousing and subsequent release is creating an environment for incubating and spreading disease, warned Jeff Schwilk of San Diegans for Secure Borders Coalition.

"They are just re-infesting them over and over," he told WND. "They treat them and immediately put them in the decontaminated cells, which is terrible. Also, bottles aren't being sanitized, blankets are being shared, it's bad. The people from the first 2 planes are long gone. They don't care at all. They are just releasing them. No relief in sight. Rumor is they will be increasing the number of flights into San Diego."

While increasing the number of flights may be the government's intent, that's not going to be happening this week according to a Wednesday announcement by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The agency did not indicate whether anti-illegal protests by local residents, outbreak of diseases or other factors were responsible for the changed plans.

"These sick aliens need to be quarantined in Texas and not shipped to California to infect our communities with dangerous diseases," said Schwilk. "All of these aliens are being processed and treated quickly for their illnesses and released into the general public in San Diego and other cities where they are going to meet family or friends, most likely your city too.

"Considering there were over 100 cases of scabies out of 420, it is obvious that San Diegans will be dealing with the outbreaks, and that's not good," Schwilk said. "But for now, we are glad that at least the drops will stop. We feel like we won. We are happy."

Patrice Lynes, who has been organizing the Murrieta protests, concurred.

"That's a victory," Lynes told the Union-Tribune. "But I'm sure that we'll still be out there. I'll be out there (Thursday). Other people will be as well. But that is a victory."

Schwilk said his group will still hold its planned blockade Thursday just in case information being reported about the cancelled drops is somehow in error. New blockades in areas that received diverted buses blocked from Murrieta last week will also be ready in case buses arrive.