Trump takes shot at California for wanting tighter border during coronavirus pandemic

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California communities on Mexico border report rise in COVID-19 cases

Up to 30 percent of patients at hospitals on the border are testing positive for coronavirus; William La Jeunesse reports.

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President Trump took a shot at California for wanting to keep people from crossing over the southern border into the state due to the coronavirus pandemic, while normally welcoming and protecting undocumented immigrants via sanctuary policies.

Mexico had a total of 22,088 COVID-19 cases as of May 2, and officials in southern California have sought assistance in reducing cases in the U.S. that stem from border crossings.

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"Mexico is sadly experiencing very big CoronaVirus problems, and now California, get this, doesn’t want people coming over the Southern Border," Trump tweeted Monday morning. "A Classic! They are sooo lucky that I am their President. Border is very tight and the Wall is rapidly being built!

Kristin Gaspar, San Diego County's Third District supervisor, sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence in April saying that medical professionals were "increasingly worried about the rapid spread of COVID-19 in northern Mexico" and that there had been "a sudden influx of critically ill patients from Mexico" in Chula Vista, Calif. Gaspar asked for senior Trump administration officials to speak with local hospital executives and medical professionals to address the issue

Additionally, Scripps Health President and CEO Chris Van Gorder and Sharp HealthCare COVID‐19 Strategic Response Executive Consultant Daniel Gross wrote a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf asking for help in dealing with coronavirus cases at the border.

As of Sunday, the Otay Mesa port of entry is closed to pedestrians and vehicles at night. This is apparently due to decreased traffic in that area ever since the U.S. and Mexico's agreed on March 21 to limit travel across the border to essential only. Still, tens of thousands of people cross the San Ysidro-Tijuana border every day, even after the U.S. and Mexico restricted travel, according to Van Gorder and Gross' letter, which was shared by Voice of San Diego.

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"Today, coronavirus cases are increasing at rates exceedingly faster among border communities compared to the rest of San Diego County," Van Gorder and Gross said.

Trump has long pushed for tightening the U.S.-Mexico border, although those calls were mainly in reference to cracking down on illegal immigration, not border crossings made by those with work visas or U.S. citizens living in Mexico. The hardline approach has been in stark contrast with the stance taken by California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has endorsed sanctuary policies to protect illegal immigrants from being deported by federal authorities.