Paul LePage Blames Undocumented Immigrants For Spreading Disease

Posted: 02/04/2015 6:28 pm EST Updated: 2 hours ago
Maxwell Tani

Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) went after undocumented immigrants during his State of the State speech Tuesday, suggesting they were spreading HIV and other diseases.

LePage veered from his prepared remarks to rail about "illegal aliens," who he claimed deprive his state of valuable resources. The governor has been engaged in a year-long battle with state lawmakers and the attorney general over a new rule that cut funds to cities where undocumented immigrants can receive welfare aid.

From his speech:

Am I compassionate about illegal aliens? Yes I am. I would prefer they do it the right way, but that's very expensive, because I've gone through that. We brought a young man here and did it the right way and paid the bill.

But this is the problem with some of the illegals that are here today. When a refugee comes here from a foreign country, they get a medical assessment and we know their health. But when they are here illegally, they don’t get medical assessments. And one thing that we don’t want to see is the uptick in hepatitis C, HIV and tuberculosis, but it is here. We are dealing with it. And it is very costly.

So, if nothing else, they should be getting a medical assessment when they get here. And I believe that my responsibility as your governor is, number one, to Maine residents first and to everyone else second.

This is not the first time LePage has linked undocumented immigrants to a public health threat. During a hepatitis A scare in October, LePage implied that illegal immigrants may be to blame for an uptick in hepatitis C and HIV.

“I have been trying to get the president to pay attention to illegals in our country,” LePage told reporters then. “Because there is a spike in hepatitis C, tuberculosis, HIV, and it is going on deaf ears.”

Health experts have cast doubt on the accuracy of LePage's accusations, pointing out that the rise in hepatitis C cases may be linked to intravenous drug users in other states.

Toho Soma, Portland director of public health, told The Huffington Post he had no idea where LePage was getting his information.

“Our sources don’t paint the same picture,” Soma said. "If these claims are in fact true, I want to work together to find a solution with the state and the governor."

LePage’s office did not return The Huffington Post’s request for comment.

The threat of disease-carrying immigrants is a well-worn trope in some conservative circles. The narrative has flared up recently, in part as a response to President Barack Obama's actions on immigration.

On Tuesday, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) speculated that the recent measles outbreak that started in Southern California may have been caused by “illegal aliens.” In July, Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) warned that children crossing the southern border could be carrying Ebola and tuberculosis.

In fact, many undocumented immigrants come from countries with vaccination rates that are higher than the United States.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/0...n_6616000.html

They definitely bring in disease, lice, beg bugs, and all the rest. But from a strategy standpoint, it is not their disease or sickness, it's their presence in the US, all covered by US immigration law as a threat to the national and economic security of the United States. Picking on individual groups of illegal aliens, from the sick ones to the ones who commit murders, is not the way to go here, because while horrendous in their own right, our immigration law doesn't say if you're a sick unemployed lice and bed bug ridden rapist, murderer or pedophile, that you're more illegal than the vaccinated, healthy, disease and bug free, non-violent sexually normal Valedictorian. No, one is just as illegal as the other under US immigration law. That's the law, that's the will of the people of the United States, so deportation is the only proper disposition of illegal aliens. Period.

It's not their character, condition, age, circumstances, accomplishments or lack thereof that are at issue here. It's the simple fact that they are here in violation of US immigration law and that is the action and the only action that is at issue under US immigration law. If you want to pick and choose and get the good ones, then that is the legal immigration process, not the illegal alien process, the illegal alien process is against the law and the response to that under the law, which is the only proper response, is deportation. Period.

Deportation is not a "shock and awe" deal. It's just returning to your country of citizenship. Just because they claim they don't like their home country is no excuse or exemption from deportation. They all knew that was the consequence. They all knew that eventually Americans would no longer tolerate this invasion of our country. I'm sure they're all sitting around marveling at how long it took US.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Judy

They definitely bring in disease, lice, beg bugs, and all the rest. But from a strategy standpoint, it is not their disease or sickness, it's their presence in the US, all covered by US immigration law as a threat to the national and economic security of the United States.If you want to pick and choose and get the good ones, then that is the legal immigration process, not the illegal alien process, the illegal alien process is against the law and the response to that under the law, which is the only proper response, is deportation. Period.

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Every time I hear one of those illegals' sob stories, I think about our own foster children. There are approximately 60,000 of them in California, alone. Typically they term out of benefits at age 18. They have high drop out rates and high rates of incarceration. But nobody in public life talks about their situation. Probably because the people who own big media outlets don't want Americans to be thinking about our own children.
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Americans first in this magnificent country

American jobs for American workers

Fair trade, not free trade

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vistalad

Every time I hear one of those illegals' sob stories, I think about our own foster children. There are approximately 60,000 of them in California, alone. Typically they term out of benefits at age 18. They have high drop out rates and high rates of incarceration. But nobody in public life talks about their situation. Probably because the people who own big media outlets don't want Americans to be thinking about our own children.
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Americans first in this magnificent country

American jobs for American workers

Fair trade, not free trade

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Exactly.