Here's a couple of things to point out to the people who want to "blame the Mexicans" or who think that tightening our borders or cracking down on illegal immigration is the answer:
One, most of the vectors into the United States have been U.S. citizens with the money and time to travel to Mexico. Some poor dude who is infected with swine flu is not going to be healthy enough to make his way across the desert to infect you. It's your wealthy globe-trotting neighbors who are more likely to be a problem.
Two, because citizens traveling legally are the dominant vector, going after people who are in the country illegally is not going to be effective in terms of preventing disease outbreaks. For one thing, they're not the primary vectors at the moment; for another, wasting time, energy and money in an effort to deport or contain people is going to cut into funds needed elsewhere and scare people away from medical care at a time when it is important. Fear-mongering makes the situation worse.
Third, the only way to prevent disease entering this country would be to seal the borders entirely. This is unfeasible for three reasons:
(a) Our borders are long and poorly monitored, and we simply don't have the money or personnel needed to do that. Even if we decided to do this to prevent future disease entering the country, it would be prohibitively expensive. It's simply not the most efficient way to prevent the spread of disease. Our inability to keep out exotic species - which sneak into the country in cargo holds, and which are brought in by breeders who lobby Congress to keep the gates open - is a useful illustration of how hard it would be to seal the borders physically.
(b) Not only would sealing the border be ridiculously expensive, it would be the most damaging thing we could do to our economy right now. Go into your average store and see what percentage of things there are "made in China" or elsewhere outside the United States. Now imagine that store without those things on the shelves. Then imagine the effects on US manufacturers and distributers with foreign markets. Closing our borders to people requires closing them to trade as well, and it would be economic suicide to do this.
(c) Swine flu is already in the country. It's too late. And there is no guarantee that a future epidemic will originate outside the U.S. - a number of U.S. factory farms are as unsafe as those elsewhere (remember the peanut butter plant?) It is far better to put money and time into things like inspectors, the CDC and disaster training and medical research - it increases flexibility, is more effective, and - hey, bonus - increases jobs and demand for U.S. scientists and doctors.
Fear-mongering calls to close our borders and blaming "illegals" are the equivalent of telling people that they should protect themselves by pulling a blanket over their heads so tightly that they smother. (And that's not even a metaphor - remember the people who sealed themselves up to protect themselves from anthrax?) Worse, it ramps up existing fear and hatred, and puts the lives of innocent people - and yes, even illegal immigrants may be innocents - at risk.
It's simply not a good idea.
(Revised from a comment on a post at Shakesville.)
Seriously. Well said. I hated that the first question at the President's press conference tonight was about closing the borders--alarmist! wrong-headed!!
Posted by: Songbird | 2009.04.29 at 08:36 PM