Swine Flu Stirring Up New Immigration Control Debates

That the recent outbreak of the swine flu – a media darling in viral form – seems to have originated in Mexico is bringing to light a number of seemingly racist comments from various reporters and talk show hosts, and igniting a new debate about immigration. Since the swine flu began to spread, talk show host Michael Savage said that the Mexican border should be closed and, specifically, that he felt that "illegal aliens are the carriers." Neal Boortz, like Savage a radio personality, has taken to calling the recent outbreak the "fajita flu," and Lou Dobbs, of CNN, has called the outbreak the "Mexican flu."

In Boston, radio host Jay Severin was suspended for calling immigrants from Mexico "criminaliens" and referring to U.S. emergency rooms as "condos for Mexicans." Though most of the comments seem to be knee-jerk reactions, Savage actually backed up his comments with a more legitimate claim than the others. The radio talk show host, who holds a Ph.D. in epidemiology and human nutrition from UC-Berkely, noted, "The first rule of epidemiology is to find the epicenter of the disease and close it off. This has nothing to do with race and everything to do with epidemiology. Viruses do not discriminate."

Even so, the World Health Organization has not recommended closing the U.S.-Mexico border. Senator Robert Menendez, of New Jersey, took on the seemingly racist nature of recent complaints, noting, "Using fears over a serious and ongoing public health issue to demonize immigrants is incredibly low and incredibly cynical, not to mention completely unsubstantiated. Some of these comments are overtly racist and have no place in our public discourse." Sharing his view on the border-closing idea, President Obama noted that the idea was akin to "closing the barn door after the horses are out."