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Covid-19 testing for Florida farming community 3:41
(CNN) - The Trump administration is tracking coronavirus conditions in Mexico and Latin America amid concerns that the situation may deteriorate and lead to northward migration as cases in the region increase.
As the virus spreads throughout Latin America, the Department of Homeland Security has focused its attention on the hospital capacity of the region and on whether the health infrastructure is equipped to adequately evaluate and treat patients.
"As with anything else, you have to plan 'what if' scenarios," a department official told CNN.
The administration has largely sealed the borders of the United States since the outbreak began, relying on travel restrictions to stop the spread. Like the United States, neighboring southern countries are also struggling with covid-19. Over the weekend, Brazil topped 100,000 cases of the virus.
Manzanillo, Mexico, May 2 (Credit: Leoanrdo Montecillo / Agencia Press South / Getty Images)
The virus has given way to some of the administration's long-standing efforts to reduce immigration, including closing the border. White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller, the architect of many of the administration's immigration policies, has previously tried to use diseases, including flu and mumps, as reasons to restrict border crossing.
In recent days, President Trump has repeatedly commented on conditions in Latin America, suggesting in a tweet that California "does not want people to come to the southern border" now that there are increasing cases of coronavirus in Mexico. He also scoffed at imposing restrictions on Brazil last week.
Over the weekend, Trump also spoke with Bolivian Acting President Jeanine Áñez and Paraguay's President Mario Abdo Benítez to discuss the response to the pandemic, offering assistance to both countries.
At the beginning of the year, the administration restricted travel from China and Iran. He later extended those restrictions to most foreigners in the Schengen Area of Europe (26 countries spanning from Iceland to Greece) and the United Kingdom and Ireland. Trump has announced those efforts in his defense of the administration's response to the coronavirus.
USA reduced travel to its borders and invoked the public health law to implement strict measures on the border between the United States. and Mexico, which also led to the rapid expulsion of thousands of migrants, including children and people seeking asylum.
The United States has by far the largest number of people infected with coronavirus in the world.