Infectious Disease and Illegals — the NEW American Tango

As further evidence mounts that illegal immigration is bringing dangerous infectious diseases into our country, there has been a sudden renewed backlash of late against American citizens who choose not to vaccinate. Regardless of how one feels on the controversial subject, it is fair to ask why those who believe unvaccinated Americans are a dire health threat are not expressing the same alarm about illegal aliens and migrant hordes currently overwhelming our southern border.

What They Bring

Reuters reports 2,287 migrant detainees were under quarantine as of March 7 amid fears of outbreaks of communicable diseases such as mumps, measles, and chicken pox. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have been informed of 236 "confirmed or probable" cases of mumps in detention facilities in the past year, claimed Reuters. ICE also was notified about 423 cases of influenza and 461 cases of chicken pox.

“We are seeing migrants arrive with illnesses and medical conditions in unprecedented numbers,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said at a March 5 press conference. The truth of this statement was borne out with the migrant caravan that marched on the U.S. in the fall of 2018. Tijuana, Mexico's Health Department told Fox News in November that of 6,000 migrants stuck in the city while attempting to make their way across our border, a full one-third, 2,267 to be exact, had health-related issues.

Fox reported that, of those cases, more than 60% had respiratory infections, 101 had lice, four had HIV/AIDS, four had chicken pox, three had tuberculosis, and there were "many skin infections." There was also a threat of a hepatitis outbreak, according to Fox, due to the crowded, unsanitary conditions of the migrant camps.

Conservative columnist David Horowitz in an October column cited a U.S. Centers for Disease Control report that showed Guatemalans are 83 times more likely to have tuberculosis than Americans. Dr. Jane Orient, executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, in a November interview with Judicial Watch, noted that "[t]he government is putting kids with lice and scabies and other health issues in American schools without people knowing the health risks."

There should be little doubt about where this leads. A high school student with tuberculosis in Lawrenceville, GA, has forced 226 students and school staffers to be tested for the disease, Fox News reported March 6. Lawrenceville is in Gwinnett County, which has the highest number of illegal aliens of any county in the state.

Inconsistent Anxiety

Despite the enormous health threat illegal aliens pose, it is unvaccinated Americans who have been under public assault in recent weeks. Leftist network CNN paints anti-vaxxers as "conspiracy theorists," and even libertarians say mandatory vaccinations are not a violation of personal liberty.

A U.S. Senate panel on March 5 targeted opponents of vaccinations, calling for a national campaign similar to anti-smoking efforts of the past to thoroughly discredit them. An Ohio high school student whose parents did not vaccinate him as a child was lauded by senators at the hearing for getting himself vaccinated. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Hillary Clinton's running mate, praised the youth for his "critical thinking skills." Yet Kaine universally supports illegal immigrants and open borders, holding a flawless record on pro-immigration issues.

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) also saluted the student, thanking him for bearing "witness to the truth." Yet Casey endorses sanctuary cities for illegal aliens and has voted against serious efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.

Why are the American people being told that one native-born student who hasn't been vaccinated would present a national crisis while millions of illegals, too many with infectious diseases, are a "fake emergency" if not an outright boon to our nation?

Those speaking so stridently on the need for Americans to be vaccinated would be more credible if they weren't at the very same time cheerleading for the importation of long-eradicated plagues across our border.