IMMIGRATION DEBATE:PHOENIX – The swine flu outbreak has stirred a heated debate in the United States about immigration, an emotional topic that is never far from the surface in this country of migrants.
The flu, which has moved across the Mexican border, has killed a Mexican toddler in Texas and sickened scores of people in several other states.
“People always want to find a culprit, and it’s easy to target people who can’t really defend themselves,” said Carlos Garcia, a Hispanic activist in Phoenix.
In recent days, at least three US congressmen called for travel across the Mexico border to be stopped or restricted to prevent the spread of the virus – a measure the government has said would be ineffective.
Syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin blamed the spread of “contagious diseases” on “uncontrolled immigration” in a blog, and other conservative talk show hosts made similar claims.
In Boston, WTKK-FM radio suspended talk show host Jay Severin on Thursday. News reports said Severin on air called Mexican migrants “criminal aliens”, “primitives”, “leeches” and “exporters of women with moustaches and VD”. In response to the sharpened tone, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists urged the media to be “fair and prudent” when covering the flu and to resist scapegoating Mexican immigrants.
“Immigrants, of course, have long been favourite and convenient scapegoats for some – for everything from high taxes to infectious diseases,” it said. “Facts haven’t much mattered.”
The NAHJ noted US citizens also cross the border. There are more than 4,000 weekly flights from the US to Mexico, and about 80 per cent of visitors to Mexico last year came from the US.
Despite the spread of the virus, President Barack Obama has remained committed to immigration reform that would include tightening border controls and offering legal status to many of the 12 million illegal immigrants living in the shadows. – (Reuters)