The recent deaths of two children brought into the United States illegally highlights the issue of contagious diseases entering the nation as a result of unchecked border crossings.
The topic has been considered for some time. In 2017, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) noted: “Communicable diseases do not stop at international borders. They could be one of the most dangerous – yet rarely considered – consequence of inadequate immigration controls. Nevertheless, the mainstream media, and most policy makers, avoid any discussion of the public health challenges presented by illegal immigration…the possibility of an epidemic traceable to migrants is a reality that cannot be ignored… Many of the people traveling to the United States, both legally and illegally, come from places with limited access to medical services and poor sanitation infrastructure. As a result, many migrants may have been exposed to a disease with public health ramifications. And it’s entirely possible that they aren’t aware they are at risk for infection… the Latin American children who arrived on the U.S. border came from countries with similar public health issues, lack of basic sanitation, limited access to healthcare services and an absence of preventative medicine programs…Their arrival was accompanied by significant increases in tuberculosis, dengue fever and swine flu infections. Unaccompanied alien children also appear to have been the source of the deadly outbreak of the EV-D68 enterovirus that spread throughout the American West in 2014.”
A 2003 report by The National Center for Biotechnology Information noted that “The U.S.-Mexico border is a unique region where the geopolitical boundary does not inhibit social and economic interactions nor the transmission of infectious diseases among residents on each side of the border…The large population movement, limited public health infrastructure, and poor environmental conditions contribute to increased incidence of certain infectious diseases. Analysis of data from the U.S. National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System for 1990 through 1998 showed increased risks for certain foodborne, waterborne, and vaccine-preventable diseases in U.S. counties within 100 kilometers of the border, compared with nonborder states. These data show a two- to fourfold greater incidence of hepatitis A, measles, rubella, shigellosis, and rabies and an eightfold greater incidence of brucellosis in border counties than in nonborder states. Studies have identified the importance of cross-border movement in the transmission of various diseases, including hepatitis A, tuberculosis, shigellosis, syphilis, Mycobacterium bovis infection, and brucellosis.
No formal agreements to address the health problem between the U.S. government and those of Latin American nations can adequately address the problem of contagious diseases entering via the flow of northbound illegal immigrants.
Judicial Watch Reports that “illegal immigrant minors entering the U.S. are bringing serious diseases—including swine flu, dengue fever, possibly Ebola virus and tuberculosis—that present a danger to the American public as well as the Border Patrol agents forced to care for the kids, according to a U.S. Congressman who is also medical doctor. This has created a ‘severe and dangerous’ crisis, says the Georgia lawmaker, Phil Gingrey. Most of the Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) are coming from Central America and they’re importing infectious diseases considered to be largely eradicated in this country. Additionally, many of the migrants lack basic vaccinations such as those to prevent chicken pox or measles, leaving America’s young children and the elderly particularly susceptible…Specifically, tuberculosis has become a dangerous issue at both the border and the camps, according to several sources cited in the story. One source confirms that ‘the amount of tuberculosis is astonishing.”
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The Immigration and Nationality Act, Sec. 232 [8 U.S.C. 1252] mandates the detention of those from regions, such as significant portions of Latin America, to determine that the new arrivals do not pose any medical threat “for a sufficient time to enable the immigration officers and medical officers to subject such aliens to observation and an examination sufficient to determine whether or not they belong to inadmissible classes.”
An example of the problem can be seen in The Centers for Disease Control discussion on chronic viral hepatitis. “Globally, more than 240 million people are chronically infected, leading to more than 786,000 deaths per year. The overwhelming majority of these deaths occur in resource-limited countries. Approximately 45% of the world’s population lives in areas of high endemicity… Most refugees arriving in the United States come from countries of intermediate and high HBV endemnicity… Although usually asymptomatic, persons (including refugees) with chronic HBV infection are a potential source for transmitting infection to others…. Highly endemic regions include… areas of Latin America…”
Arizona Central reports that on at least eight instances between August and October in 2018, groups of more than 100 undocumented immigrants, mainly from Guatemala, usually including families with small children, were found in areas of southwest Arizona. When discovered, a number required hospitalization for various ailments, including skin infections.
Photo: Customs and Border Patrol (CBP photo)