Swine Flu: Conservatives Blame Immigrants

Conservative media hosts, including Michelle Malkin and Glenn Beck, have placed the blame for the spread of swine flu to the United States squarely on the shoulders of undocumented Mexican immigrants. Some even suggested yesterday that Mexicans were purposefully carrying the virus across the border to sabotage the United States.

There's no basis for either claim -- in fact, news reports and health officials suggest that Americans traveling to Mexico likely carried the disease home. For example, several students at the infected school in New York had recently come back from a spring break trip to Cancun.

Rear Adm. Anne Schuchat, M.D., the interim deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's science and public health program, suggested that Americans who visited Mexico recently brought the disease back with them: "I know that we have confirmation of disease in people who have traveled to Mexico, and I don't know the numbers, but I know that that is definitely the case in some of our cases, and that's an important factor to consider." Media reports indicate that U.S. swine flu victims had recently traveled to Mexico.

Media Matters documents:

On Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said that stricter border control was not necessary at this time. That would be a very, very heavy cost for what epidemiologists tells us would be marginal" in terms of containing the virus, she said on NBC's "Today" show.

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Comments

[Tommygun264]

Impoverished people traveling across the border on foot, then sprouted wings and spread the flu across the nation and over to Europe in a matter of days - right. It's obviously been spread through air travel, either by a wealthy tourist or airline employee. Only ignorant racists could believe poor people moving a limited distance on foot could be to blame.

[ztck5356]

I thought it was the pig's fault.

[AndThenOneDay]

I think it is being spread by Michelle Malkin. She should be kept away from swine.

[steve-oo]

There you go ... the GOP default mode ... attack the poor and the non whites, you numb skulls ... you are an embarrassment to this nation and completely forgot where we all came from. No wonder Specter couldn't stand it anymore, he had to protect his constituency and credibility.

[Budokan]

It's why they've lost three out of the last five presidential elections with more to come....

http://kennethmarkhoover.com

[whateverlolawants]

This is just like 100-150 years ago when white people blamed black (and other ethnic) ghettos for spreading disease.

No trade between Mexico and the US? I wonder if Savage realizes that a crucial component to face masks (I believe it's face masks, might be another front-line item in fighting/t­reating/de­tecting the flu) comes from Mexico...

Michael Savage is nuts. And doesn't he realize AIDS is growing strongest among straight women? It's not a "gay disease" anymore. Well, clearly he isn't being held to any kind of standard of truth-telling, nor is Neal Boortz- does he even know if there isn't a CDC-like agency in Mexico? Where on earth did he learn that 10% of Mexican-born people are here now and the rest want to be here? Does he realize there's a middle and upper class in Mexico too? Not everyone there resembles those we see immigrating to the US.

And wait, the US government should protect its people, Michael Savage? Does that apply to things like universal health care or building strong levees? Or is that just crazy talk?

WTF? How can Michael Savage tell whether someone in a restaurant kitchen is an illegal immigrant? Because they're brown? And that illegal immigrants might have just gone to the bathroom and not washed their hands... but legal immigrants and native-born folks would never do that? Talk about straight-up racism and prejudice. Of course he'd deny it, but that's what it is.

[OBXartist]

Pure conservative fearmongering. Never let the facts get in the way of your xenophobia.

[Budokan]

They can never get out of the way of their own hate.

http://kennethmarkhoover.com

[Aesthete]

This epidemic is apparently global and has been predicted for some time. Just how are these undocumented immigrants responsible for the cases of this flu in New Zealand, for example? The cases showing up in the U.S. are largely among Americans who have recently visited Mexico.

[BluebirdofUnhappiness]

NZ: Excellent swimmers?

[Kynn]

The Cons always blame immigrants, or the poor.

[Budokan]

They always blame people who can't fight back.

http://kennethmarkhoover.com

[harriettubman]

Michelle Malkin may have a non-ethnic name now but the vicious things that come out of her mouth and her Asian appearance are a parodox. It appears she's never had to endure any hardships. She blamed the foreclosure mess all on Hispanics.

[Gripen]

I put her in same cathegory as black white supremacists, jewish neo nazis or gay christians/muslims.

Very contradicting and disturbing, because they basicly aid the ppl that want ot destroy them.

When it coems to the extremists FOX and her try to appeal, doesnt they care if she is second generation, she is asianand has a close family tie to an imegrant. They have zero tollerance.

Self destructivt behavior for humans never suprise me.

[AndThenOneDay]

Best Chappelle episode ever. Clayton Bigsby, black white supremacist.

[smileatfear]

She is so full of self-loathing.

[rkimball]

it was only a matter of time before someone turned the swine flu into a racial issue.

[billbb]

Let's see... Michelle Malkin going ape on immigrants? You mean, like her parents?

The righties lack a sense of irony...

[rowzeer]

Many of the infected are those that are American and took a vacation or trip to Mexico not immigrants that came from Mexico.

[hjo4]

I am an American Black male, it baffles me how many champion circumventing our law for illegal aliens and give them amnesty, but are silent about the 2 Million Americans in prison over 1 Million are American Blacks.Man­y are in prison for convictions ranging from violations to felonies. I wonder why they don't have this overwhelmingly support from those on this board as the criminals who chose to enter America illegally. Are the criminal acts of illegal aliens somewhat different than the crimes American citizens commit. The law is applied to me and many who look as I do to the letter, why are some demanding that same law not be applied to those who also have violated our law.

[yoshi99]

Well, part of the reason you don't see anything about that on this board is because this article is about wingnuts making stupid claims about the origin and propagation of the swine flu, not about the disparity in treatment of illegal immigrants and other resident criminals.

[rwext]

it is called being liberal-pr­ogressive.­....and I would venture of the 1 million American Blacks incarcerated quite a large number are in drug offenses that shouldn't have put them there

[gintheb]

Brother, what are you talking about? This thread is about the swine flu.

[hjo4]

Since we're talking about illegal aliens and the swine flu let's put all the cards on the table. I'm not affiliated with any party but if people believe that this is a Republican or Conservative based issue or people are being "racist" they are dead wrong .This is about upholding he law. That's what I'm putting out here for others to understand.

[RachelMc]

because its better for business..­..

[harriettubman]

I'm against illegal immigration just like I'm against people who commit crimes and want to get out of prison. Many of those prisoners you defend are there due to the poor choices they made.

[Peji]

Yes, but his point is that when they did something illegal they went to jail, whereas we're talking about giving other people who did something illegal citizenship!

[sepiasiren]

and recent DNA testing has proven that many of the black men incarcerated were innocent of their crimes--and are more likely to be put into jail falsely than other ethnic groups.

Besides, I believe if we do wish to grant amnesty ( as Reagan once did during his term), we can grant it to those who have proven their worth here by their contributions to society--not to criminals.

[Machun]

It looks like the far right are gearing up to get the Latin vote back again. Let us know how this works out for you.

[1dogs2]

The only surprising aspect of the conservative blowhards' latest meme is that it took a couple days to dream it up. I was wondering when it would start.