The swine flu virus has infected the immigration debate, with
talk show comments like "fajita flu" and "illegal aliens are the
carriers" drawing vehement protests from Hispanic advocates.
The volatile immigration issue had cooled off on talk shows and
in the blogosphere as the presidential election and economic crisis
unfolded. Now, some are using the spread of the virus to renew
arguments that immigration from Mexico is a threat to America.
There have been no reports of swine flu leading to incidents of
discrimination or profiling of Hispanics. But some Hispanics say
racist anti-immigration rhetoric fueled the recent rise in hate
crimes against Latinos, and they want to prevent another surge.
Since the virus began to spread, talk radio host Michael Savage
has said the Mexican border should be closed immediately and that
"illegal aliens are the carriers." Another radio personality,
Neal Boortz, has suggested calling the virus the "fajita flu,"
and CNN's Lou Dobbs called it the "Mexican flu," according to the
liberal watchdog group Media Matters.
Boston radio host Jay Severin was suspended indefinitely for
calling Mexican immigrants "criminaliens" and emergency rooms
"condos for Mexicans" during a discussion about swine flu. A
member of a New York City commission on women's issues, Betsy
Perry, apologized for blogging that Mexico might need to "get a
grip on its banditos" and other flu-related remarks.
In an interview, Savage, who says he has a Ph.D in epidemiology
and human nutrition from the University of California-Berkeley,
said his remarks were based on science.
"The first rule of epidemiology is to find the epicenter of the
disease and close it off," he said. "This has nothing to do with
race and everything to do with epidemiology. Viruses do not
discriminate."
The World Health Organization does not recommend closing
borders, saying that would have little effect, if any, on stopping
the virus from spreading. President Barack Obama called the idea
"closing the barn door after the horses are out."
What some call science, others call racism.
"Using fears over a serious and ongoing public health issue to
demonize immigrants is incredibly low and incredibly cynical, not
to mention completely unsubstantiated," said Sen. Robert Menendez,
D-N.J. "Some of these comments are overtly racist and have no
place in our public discourse."
Liany Arroyo, director of the National Council of La Raza's
Insatiate for Hispanic Health, said some were trying to exploit the
virus "as a mechanism to stir fear."
"This situation is not about immigration, it's about health,"
she said. "We're all in this together."
But fear is not a rational beast. History is rife with unfounded
health scares, some as recent as the 1980s, when Haitians were
banned from donating blood in the United States during the early
stages of the AIDS epidemic.
So, for anyone who looks Mexican, today's casual cough can turn
into humiliation.
In Wilmington, N.C., construction worker Juan Mendoza said he
was "working for these rich people ... the other day, and they
kept asking me and my co-worker if we were sick. It made me feel
bad. Like it's our fault?"
Moises Fernandez, a Raleigh, N.C., resident originally from
Tamaulipas, Mexico, said no Americans have openly offended him.
"But I know what they're thinking," said the 24-year-old
construction worker. "You can tell with how they look at you."
The immigration debate exploded in 2007 when President George W.
Bush proposed an overhaul that would have legalized millions of
illegal immigrants. Talk radio led the charge against the idea,
calling it "amnesty," and the legislation failed to pass. Bush
then increased border enforcement and workplace raids, further
inflaming tension.
There were 830 Hispanic victims of hate crimes in 2007, the most
recent year for which FBI statistics are available, up from 819 in
2006 and 595 in 2003. Hate-crime charges were filed in three recent
high-profile killings of Latinos. That led to calls for a new
federal law, and the House passed a bill last Wednesday.
Now, with Mexican drug violence seeping across the border, Obama
backing a path to citizenship for the 12 million illegal
immigrants, and the new swine flu, the ingredients for another
explosion are assembled.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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