Two former U.S. health officials tell the AP that Vice President Mike Pence in March directed the nation’s top disease control agency to use its emergency powers to effectively seal the borders against immigrants and asylum seekers over the objections of its scientists.
Three people with direct knowledge of the situation say a top Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doctor had refused to comply with the Trump administration directive. Then Pence ordered CDC Director Robert Redfield to approve the order. So far it has caused nearly 150,000 children and adults to be expelled from the country.
