In the past three-and-a-half years, the United States has witnessed unprecedented levels of illegal immigration at its southern and northern borders. Since January 2021, over 5 million individuals have been released into the country by the Biden administration, causing significant harm to national safety, economic stability, and societal well-being. However, there is another crisis that has received insufficient attention: a major public health crisis. Millions of migrants are entering the country illegally without being required to receive vaccinations, despite immigration laws to the contrary. It is evident that both the illegal entry and the lack of vaccinations have the tacit approval of the current administration, and both constitute grave errors.
The inevitable consequence is that migrant centers have become breeding grounds for preventable infectious diseases, and healthcare facilities across the United States are being overwhelmed by illegal immigrants suffering from illnesses that had previously been eradicated within the country’s borders.
Immigrants entering the country legally are obligated to demonstrate that they have been vaccinated against various communicable infectious diseases. The specific requirements vary based on age, but for adults between the ages of 18 and 59, vaccinations are mandated against 12 pathogens, including COVID-19, mumps, measles, polio, and Hepatitis B.
The diseases that are resurfacing across the country include mumps, measles, and tuberculosis (TB), but many others are also occurring, even polio. It was not long ago that the United States had virtually eliminated these preventable infectious diseases through vaccinations and, in the case of TB, treatment. However, with millions of unvaccinated individuals crossing the border from over 180 countries worldwide, we are witnessing a resurgence of these avoidable illnesses.
When migrant populations contract preventable infectious diseases, the operations of migrant shelters are severely disrupted, as new migrants cannot be admitted, and the existing population must be isolated until the outbreak subsides. The infections also spread to those who come into contact with them, including federal, state, and city officials, contractors, volunteers, schoolteachers, and, subsequently, to other citizens, including school children.
The question arises: are health problems caused by unvaccinated migrants a reality? Regrettably, the answer is yes. TB is once again on the rise in the United States, despite having been effectively controlled in the past. This resurgence is attributed, in part, to the influx of individuals from countries where TB is not adequately managed. TB, a severe and often fatal disease requiring prolonged treatment for a cure, has increased by 19% in Santa Clara County, California, from 2022 to 2023. According to information released under a court order, thousands of migrant children infected with TB have been released into 44 states without receiving treatment. The presence of tens of thousands of immigrants with untreated TB poses a significant threat to public health.
In the New York City area and Chicago, two locations that have received a large influx of illegal immigrants housed in migrant centers, there have been reported spikes in diseases other than TB, including chickenpox, measles, mumps, and whooping cough.
In a commentary published in the Washington Times on December 11, 2023, Dale Wilcox and Matt O’Brien emphasized that bringing the millions of migrants who have entered the United States illegally up to date with the vaccination requirements for U.S. citizens would save lives and money, as the healthcare savings from the protective effects of vaccines far outweigh the costs of the vaccines themselves.
It is imperative that we do the right thing and ensure that all the aliens released into this country by the Biden administration are up to date on all vaccinations required for legal immigrants.
It is essential to note that establishing effective immunity for many of these infectious diseases requires multiple vaccinations. To ensure the effectiveness of a vaccination program for migrants who have entered the country illegally and those yet to come, they must be provided with documentation of the vaccinations they have received and be required to complete the series. This information could be easily stored on the cell phones that they are reportedly all provided with.
The United States should also commence the vaccination process at the border, upon the initial encounter with each illegal immigrant, before they are sent to a detention facility or released into the country. Again, the newcomers must receive documentation of the vaccinations they received at the border and be required to complete the entire course of vaccinations.
Launching a national effort to vaccinate all illegal immigrants will not only protect the migrants themselves but also American citizens, the healthcare system, and the U.S. treasury.
