They did not say “US Citizens”, they said Americans. In Spanish, anyone from any country in the Western Hemisphere can say “soy Americano” truthfully, because if you are from North America, then “soy de norte american” and from South America, “soy de sud america”
“We’ve got this continual flow of Covid coming across the border in the form of US citizens that carry and continue to escalate and fuel the Covid pressures that we see,” Duncan said.
Officials estimate about a quarter of a million US citizens live across the border in the Mexican state of Baja California. Many work in the US and have family members there. Some regularly go to US hospitals when they need medical attention. Others decided to cross this time because Mexican hospitals were overwhelmed by a crush of coronavirus cases.
“What has happened as the situation has worsened on the Mexican side of the line is that a number of the US citizens are returning to the United States to seek care for Covid-19,” says Coyle of the California Hospital Association.
I doubt that retired Americans in Mexico walk to the border and call 911. It is the Mexican born in the US to get free delivery and welfare benefits who will do this.