Some Republicans Blame Migrants For COVID-19 Surges. Doctors Say They’re Scapegoating

August 11, 2021 ☼ pandemicmigrationgoplies

Source: NPR - Link

Migrants are no more likely to have the coronavirus than any other travelers who are crossing the border, or anyone living in COVID-19 hot spots in the U.S., medical experts said. To some observers, it all feels like the latest chapter in a long history of scapegoating immigrants.

Public health experts say the emphasis on migrants is a diversion

“This is not a border issue; it is not a migrant issue,” Dr. Michele Heisler, medical director of the organization Physicians for Human Rights, said in an interview with NPR.

The places in the U.S. with the highest positivity rates are not near the border, Heisler said, or in the parts of the U.S. where migrants are heading. Instead they tend to be places with the lowest vaccination rates — and where governors have opposed mask mandates.

GOP politicians have an agenda. Place blame for any catastrophe on anyone but themselves. Migrants provide a convenient distraction from their incompetence.