In Texas, a Quarantine Camp for Migrants With Covid-19

A first look inside the camp where more than 1,000 migrants are being quarantined after testing positive for the virus. At least 1,000 others are also under isolation after positive Covid tests.

MISSION, Texas — On the edge of the Rio Grande in South Texas, sprawling Anzalduas Park has long been a popular spot for bird-watching, family cookouts and fishing. But earlier this month, the grassland expanse with barbecue grills and picnic tables was put off-limits, transformed into a large Covid-19 quarantine camp for migrants who have crossed from Mexico. Buses now pull in to deposit passengers under a large circular pavilion, where bedraggled families form a line, waiting to be tested for the coronavirus. Those who test positive must remain at the camp, often with their families, until they are virus-free. By this week, at least 1,000 migrants were housed at the teeming camp, erected by the nearby city of McAllen as an emergency measure to contain the spread of the virus beyond the southwestern border. About 1,000 others are quarantined elsewhere in the Rio Grande Valley, some of them in hotel rooms paid for by a private charity.