Thread: Illegal aliens not the only issue surrounding immigration wo

http://sun.yumasun.com/artman/publish/a ... _17320.php

Illegal aliens not the only issue surrounding immigration woes
BY JONATHAN ATHENS
Jun 19, 2005



A binational organization is calling for Congress to enact legislation that would allow the federal government to send medical supplies to Mexico in the event of public health emergencies, including bioterrorist incidents.

Smallpox, anthrax, pertussis (commonly known as whooping cough), the West Nile virus and dengue fever are among any number of diseases that can cross the Arizona-Mexico border, triggering a public health crisis here or in Mexico.

“Germs don’t know borders,� said ADHS Director Susan Gerard. “We have to be able to protect all the people along the border to stop the spread of disease and illness,� Gerard said.

As it stands, neither the U.S. federal government or the Mexican federal government has formal legislative mechanisms in place to release their respective stockpiles of supplies, vaccines and medical resources in the event of a public health crisis that crosses their border.

The matter is handled among Arizona public health authorities and Mexican public health authorities in Mexican states bordering Arizona.

“Both countries are hampered at the state level by the fact that they have federal regulations, and so if they broaden it and do allow it, it really gives flexibility,� said Jill Dezapien, associate dean at the University of Arizona.

The recommendation was presented Friday in Tucson at the 2005 plenary session of the Arizona-Mexico Commission.

A committee of the Border Governor’s Conference in April recommended federal lawmakers pass such a law and the proposed recommendation will be considered by the conference in July when the group meets again in Mexico.

Dezapien and Gerard’s comments come as Yuma County faces four public health threats â€â€

Makes me want to build a 100 foot wall all along the border.

You got it Scarecrow...apparently this neighbor is becoming a total and complete dependent on the taxpayers of the US....

DON"T ACCEPT IT>>IT"S A FALSE RESPONSIBILITY<<

RR