Hoffman/Warburton: It's Time to End Anti-Immigration Covid Claims

Written by Julia Hyman of the Hoffman/Warburton Campaign for Governor, edited by Will Sytsma.

Despite Diane Allen’s political experience in New Jersey, the Republican candidate is a key component to the perpetuation of hostility and xenophobic tropes towards immigrants here in the Garden State. While on 77 WABC in August, Allen was put on record saying, “I mean, right now, look at all these people with Covid who are coming across the border, and it scares me. They’re put on buses. I suspect some of them are coming up to New Jersey—not a good idea.” After being condemned by multiple New Jersey politicians and caucus leaders—including the Latino Caucus—Allen still defends her statement by claiming it is “rooted in facts.”

Public health officials have been monitoring four notable Covid variants all throughout the U.S., none of which were found to be circulated from Central America first, which is where a handful of Latino immigrants come from. In fact, it was found that the variants circled throughout the U.S. before it hit Mexico as well. A data visualization from GISAID shows that the Delta variant started in India and spread directly to the U.S. from India and the United Kingdom back in March and April. From there, the variant spread to Mexico from the States. Furthermore, the alpha, betta, and gamma Covid variants also spread to the U.S. before they hit Central America.

CDC reports prove that variant spread stemmed from international travel and not migration. Immigrants at the border are catching and spreading Covid due to how the U.S. handles immigrants at the border by keeping them contained together in tight spaces with little ventilation and inadequate sanitization.The Department of Homeland Security fully supports funding testing, quarantining, and isolating migrants that cross the border, pending approval from Governor Abbott of Texas.

In the city of Brownsville, Mayor Trey Mendez found that only 6% of immigrants tested positive for Covid-19 at a local bus station. Overall, it is not migrants that contribute to the mass spreading of Covid, but the low vaccination rates and discouragement of mask-wearing. In fact, one third of unvaccinated people openly blamed immigrants for the spread of Covid. Mississippi, for example, is one of five states with the lowest percentages of undocumented immigrants, according to the Pew Research Center. However, it is currently the state with the lowest vaccination rate nationally with less than 36% of its civilians vaccinated, and it ranked third in Covid infections per 100,000 people recently.

Moreover, at the southern border where all non-essential travel is closed, the Border Patrol has expelled 750,000 people who have crossed, even those seeking asylum, because of Title 42 that was put into effect by Trump and carried out by the Biden Administration.

Madelyn Hoffman and Heather Warburton will not stand for these accusations of New Jersey’s immigrant communities. They believe that these communities are vital to the growth of our state, and recognize as well how much they have been impacted by this pandemic. It’s time to turn to the real source of spread when it comes to the Covid virus, that being the refusal of the vaccine and improper handling of protocol on the behalf of Democratic and Republican administrations. The candidates condemn reject any and all false xenophobic narratives and welcome with open arms all that come to New Jersey, as they are important members of our state.

External Sources:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/no-surge-covid-cases-us-not-due-migrants-immigrants-rcna1656
https://apnews.com/article/public-health-mexico-health-coronavirus-pandemic-immigration-74eba36e8cd2f842987c0e6e57bcfae1
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/08/06/fact-check-covid-19-variants-not-migrants-u-s-mexico-border/5420387001/