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No, the increase in COVID-19 cases is not the fault of immigrants

2021-08-11T18:10:42.554Z


Conservative voices, including the governors of Texas and Florida, falsely target the undocumented to explain the high numbers of coronavirus in their states. But according to experts, it is the low vaccination rates and the measures to prevent the use of masks that explain the infections.


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In recent weeks, as the delta variant of the coronavirus has skyrocketed the number of infections in the United States, different voices have also emerged blaming undocumented immigrants and foreigners in general for the spread of the coronavirus throughout the country. 

Perhaps the most visible cases are those of the Republican governors of Texas and Florida, Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis, respectively.

Abbott repeatedly blames undocumented immigrants for the rise in COVID-19 cases in the state and issued an executive order to limit the transport of migrants in Texas who may transmit COVID-19.

The Justice Department called the order "dangerous and illegal."

And it was temporarily blocked by a judge on July 30.

DeSantis, for his part, blamed the president, Joe Biden, for importing the virus from around the world "by having a southern border wide open."

“There are more than 100 countries where people are coming from.

Not only are they letting them in, they are distributing them in our communities across the country.

Putting them on planes and on buses, ”he said on August 4. 

[Political and judicial battle in Florida and Texas so that children can wear a mask despite the order of the governors]

Utah Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds voiced a similar view in late July, claiming that while Americans are being restricted.

there are "people who cross the border and have not been vaccinated." 

This speech seems to have penetrated among the conservative sectors.

Last week, while discussing the possibility of ordering the use of masks in schools, members of school boards from two counties in North Carolina accused undocumented immigrants of causing the increase in COVID-19 cases in the country, it reported. The Charlotte Observer newspaper. 

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In addition, a third of unvaccinated citizens believe that foreigners traveling to the United States are the cause of the increase in coronavirus infections, according to an Axios-Ipsos survey published on August 3.

It is not the fault of the immigrants

But

there is no evidence to support this type of accusation against immigrants

.

While it is true that people entering the country without permission could be contributing to the overall number of COVID-19 cases - there have been cases of positive undocumented persons with COVID-19 who were released by the Border Patrol - experts believe that the impact of those cases does not make a difference in the American health situation.

[The Pentagon will require all active military personnel to be vaccinated against COVID-19]

"Given the widespread transmission that already exists in the United States, the contribution of immigration is similar to pouring a bucket of water into a swimming pool," William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University, told Politifact. measure and quite trivial, "he added.

It is not migratory patterns that explain the recent outbreaks of COVID-19,

but the low vaccination rates in certain states

, Dr. Arthur Kaplan, director of the division of medical ethics at the Grossman School of Medicine of the United

States

, explained to Noticias Telemundo. New York University. 

Two immigrant families from Brazil seeking asylum took advantage of a gap in the border barrier to cross from Mexico to the United States in Yuma, Arizona, on June 21, 2021. Eugene Garcia / AP

“In some states it is not clear that there is a lot of migration at this time, although there are large outbreaks.

As far as I know, the migration patterns in the last month are further north than south.

And that doesn't correlate at all, ”Kaplan explained in a telephone interview.

The 10 states with the highest rates of COVID-19 infections in the last seven days are located in the southern United States, including Florida and Texas, where Republican Governors DeSantis and Abott are trying to prevent schools from being able to force students to wear a mask to protect yourself from COVID-19.

[Texas Teachers Question If Governor Abbott Is Concerned About Students' Health]

Although immigrants may be contributing to the overall COVID-19 case numbers, Kaplan explains that the increase in infections and current outbreak patterns in the country are actually responding to policies that discourage the use of masks, vaccination and the isolation of the sick with COVID-19.

Take the example of Mississippi, one of the five states with the lowest percentage of undocumented population in the country, according to estimates by the Pew Research Center.

It is currently the state with the lowest vaccination rate nationally, but it ranks third in COVID-19 infections per 100,000 people in the last seven days.

In Mississippi, only 45 out of every 100 residents are fully vaccinated, according to official data. 

Dallas authorities defy the governor's order.

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On this point, the leading expert on infectious diseases in the country, Anthony Fauci insisted this Thursday, August 10, that the problem in Florida, contrary to what Governor DeSantis says, is the low vaccination rate among its inhabitants. 

“Florida is really one of the worst in terms of the number of new cases and the number of hospitalizations.

This is fundamentally an outbreak, a pandemic of unvaccinated people, and given the relatively lower level of vaccinations in Florida, compared to some of the other states, you are much more vulnerable, ”Fauci told CBS local news in Tampa. , Florida.  

["It's frightening".

Children's hospitals are filling up due to the increase in COVID-19 cases among children]

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, explained that last week Florida saw an 84% increase in COVID-19 cases and a 110% increase in hospitalizations.

"That's really bad news," he said.

For Dr. Arthur Kaplan, blaming immigrants - undocumented or not - for the recent outbreaks of COVID-19 is not only wrong, but "racist." 

“There is a very long history in America, sadly, of blaming recent immigrants [for disease].

They are always trying to blame foreigners for "diseases" and there is no evidence, particularly at this point when we know why there are large outbreaks in the south, "he said.

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"I see nothing but racism and bigotry behind finger pointing at immigrants," Kaplan added. 

The borders are not open

Another false claim repeated by opponents of immigration is that the country's borders are wide open and anyone can enter, just as DeSantis put it.

But the evidence shows otherwise: in March 2020 the United States closed its land borders with Mexico and Canada to non-essential travel such as tourism.

The measure has been extended month by month and will remain in effect at least until August 21. 

[The Government quickly deport more migrants]

In addition, since the end of January 2021, federal health authorities require a negative COVID-19 test for international travelers, including citizens and residents, who arrive in the United States by air. 

And on the border with Mexico, since October 2020 the Border Patrol expelled 750,000 undocumented immigrants that they intercepted when they crossed into the United States.

These expulsions occur under Title 42, a health rule on the border that the government of former President Donald Trump imposed to curb the arrival of undocumented immigrants and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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The Biden Administration decided to maintain the ordinance after considering that a public health crisis has not ceased to exist in the country.

On July 30, the Government resumed the deportation flights of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) to more expeditiously expel hundreds of immigrants who do not qualify to request asylum, taking them to Central America or southern Mexico.

The number of immigrants currently arriving at the southern border is the highest in decades.

The Border Patrol detained nearly 180,000 immigrants in June 2021, the highest number since March 2000.

[Are vaccinated people protected against the delta variant of COVID-19?]

Although the majority of arrests culminate in the almost immediate expulsion of immigrants, it is also true that with the arrival of Biden to the White House expulsions have become less common.

While in December 2020 85% of the people detained were expelled from the country, in June 2021 that figure was 58%, the lowest since the COVID-19 pandemic began. 

But this does not mean that all the people who managed to stay continued their way within the country.

Of the 75,000 immigrants detained in June who were not expelled, just over half remain in the custody of federal or local authorities;

some are transferred to the immigration service (ICE) and others end up in police cells or sheriffs, as they had pending matters with the justice system.

The rest are released with the order to appear before an immigration court months later.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2021-08-11

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