The intersection of immigration and public health has been a topic of extensive discussion, particularly concerning the potential introduction of infectious diseases by undocumented migrants. It is a topic which deserves even more attention.
TB remains a focal point in discussions about diseases associated with immigration. Data indicates that a significant portion of TB cases in the U.S. are among foreign-born individuals. For instance, in New York City, 89 percent of TB patients are foreign-born, with the city's TB rate being 2.5 times higher than the national average. However, it's crucial to understand that TB is a latent infection in many individuals, meaning they are not contagious. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has established rigorous screening protocols to identify and treat active TB cases among immigrants and refugees before they enter the U.S., aiming to mitigate potential public health risks. That's if the illegals cooperate, and do not disappear into the ethno-racial woodwork, which they tend to do.
Beyond TB, concerns have been raised about the potential spread of diseases such as measles and various sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The CDC recommends screening for infections like chlamydia, gonorrhoea, hepatitis C, HIV, and syphilis among newly arrived immigrants and refugees. Again, that is if the illegals and refugees cooperate.
The Trump administration has considered policies to prevent asylum seekers from entering the U.S. by labelling them as potential carriers of diseases like measles or tuberculosis. This approach aims to invoke health measures to curb immigration, which is sound policy that needs to continue.
Here are some hard-hitting comments from Brian C. Joondeph, M.D.,a physician, on the disease threat of migrants:
"Fortunately, Fox News has demonstrated the courage to report honestly about the infectious diseases crossing America's borders (emphasis mine).
Open borders allow deadly narcotics and criminal gangs to invade our country. But there's a silent killer also making its way across the border: tuberculosis.
America's woke public health authorities are more concerned with equity -- redistributing health resources among racial groups -- than with keeping a disease the U.S. once nearly eradicated from becoming a threat again.
Reported cases of TB shot up 34% from 2020 to 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and continue to rise. More than three quarters of the cases are foreign-born people who picked up the disease in their home countries or traveling through countries with high TB rates. The TB incidence rate is 60 times higher in Haiti than in the U.S.
This article highlights New York City as the leading destination for illegal aliens, where the incidence of TB is 2.5 times higher than the national average. Additionally, 89 percent of TB patients in NYC are foreign-born.
The Southern Medical Association states, "Illegal immigration may expose Americans to diseases that have been virtually eradicated but are highly contagious, as in the case of TB." ProPublica reviewed ICE detention centers and found staff often break strict rules for testing contagious diseases.
According to the CDC, symptoms of TB include a persistent cough, weakness, fatigue, weight loss, and night sweats. Most everyone crossing the Mexican desert, hiding from authorities, and having limited food and water for weeks on end will have these symptoms. Who gets screened? Everyone or no one? The latter is likely the case based on the sheer volume of immigrants crossing during the Biden administration.
Because they are ignorant of good hygiene measures, children are great transmitters of infectious diseases. Just ask any parent with children in daycare or elementary school.
Once across the U.S. border, immigrant children are sent to New York City, California, Denver, and other cities and states. What a perfect way to disseminate an infectious disease, especially since the children will again be living in close quarters in makeshift detention centers, coughing and sneezing on each other.
So far, I have only been discussing standard TB, which is treatable with a variety of medications. What about "multi-drug-resistant TB" or, even worse, "extensively drug-resistant TB"? Both, according to the CDC, are significantly more challenging to treat.
The global prevalence of active or latent TB is 25 percent. The CDC reports, "The TB rate among non–U.S.-born persons was 15 times the rate among U.S.-born persons." Furthermore, Latin American slums are "a breeding ground for disease," with TB being just one example.
TB is just one of many diseases that can cross the border into the US. Other infectious diseases, such as scabies, MRSA staph infections, hepatitis, measles, and chicken pox, can also be introduced. Researchers at Boston Medical Center found that "Immigrants have ongoing links with populations in their countries of origin that may provide a channel through which infectious diseases potentially can be introduced to new areas."
Scientific American warns of tropical diseases that are "endemic in warmer, wetter, and poorer areas of the world, often closer to the equator," such as schistosomiasis, Chagas disease, dengue, and Chikungunya, making their way to the U.S. as "immigration may become a greater disease pipeline."
Polio has been eradicated in much of the world but remains endemic in three countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria. Additionally, polio has reemerged in Venezuela, as reported by CNN. Currently, 770,000 Venezuelan migrants are living in the U.S.
Standard legal immigration into the U.S. requires a medical examination, which includes a review of medical history, a physical examination, a chest X-ray, and blood tests for syphilis. Blood testing and chest X-rays are not required for children and teenagers. What about illegal immigration? It's like closing and locking your home windows while leaving the front door wide open.
Remember the scene from The Godfather Part II where young Vito Corleone arrived at Ellis Island with suspected smallpox? He was placed in quarantine until he was deemed healthy enough to enter New York City. Under previous policies, Vito would have been sent to various U.S. cities and enrolled in overcrowded public schools, coughing and spreading tuberculosis or smallpox to his entire classroom and their families.
Fortunately, a new sheriff and a posse of cabinet-level deputies are in town, many of whom understand infectious diseases and the necessity of protecting Americans from needless illness and death. While Tren de Aragua and criminal gang members make the news, don't overlook the silent microscopic killers out there, which are just as dangerous, if not more so, to American citizens."