Here’s an idea that should garner bipartisan support. In fact, if everyone in DC were to stay consistent regarding the current migrant crisis, both Republicans and Democrats should buy into the only humanitarian plan that makes sense across the board. They should act on this immediately.
Media outlets have been reporting outbreaks of infectious diseases among migrants. We’ve all heard about the poor health situations that have taken lives; Democrats love to blame border patrol and the President every time a migrant dies in custody. They demand action. Here’s what we should do.
Let’s treat them all with the best possible medical care available in America. No child should die in custody. No migrant should suffer with diseases while they wait for their asylum hearing. Is there a politician who could disagree with either of those statements?
Of course, treating them properly means quarantine. The outbreaks are too numerous and many are being quarantined already. This happened in March at the beginning of the surge of migrants across the southern border:
Mumps, other outbreaks force U.S. detention centers to quarantine over 2,000 migrants
Mumps can easily spread through droplets of saliva in the air, especially in close quarters. While most people recover within a few weeks, complications include brain swelling, sterility and hearing loss.
ICE health officials have been notified of 236 confirmed or probable cases of mumps among detainees in 51 facilities in the past 12 months, compared to no cases detected between January 2016 and February 2018. Last year, 423 detainees were determined to have influenza and 461 to have chicken pox. All three diseases are largely preventable by vaccine.
That’s just one story. There are dozens, including new outbreaks reported nearly every day. The conditions many of the migrants endure during their travels and the lack of vaccinations in their home countries mean the threat of spreading infectious diseases is great. All migrants must be quarantined, thoroughly examined, and properly treated. It’s the only humane thing to do.
To accomplish this, we need facilities in which the masses of migrants crossing the border illegally can be housed and treated. This will cost money, and while I’m not a fan of the government spending anything, but we could chalk it up against the $150 billion that will be spent on one year’s worth of illegal immigration. Suddenly, the hundreds of millions of dollars it would cost to rapidly establish such facilities along the border doesn’t seem like such a high price to pay.
We would also need to speed up the asylum hearing process. The backlog is tremendous and growing. Mark us down for another $40 million or so to rapidly process the backlog and get us to the point that asylum seekers are not forced to wait months or even years before their hearing.
Again, this only makes sense for their sake. Nobody likes being left in limbo, right?
This plan would save many asylum seekers from being given final orders of removal in absentia. They don’t want to get deported. As we reported yesterday, acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan declared 90% of asylum seekers aren’t able to show up for their hearings. They won’t have to worry about it anymore under this plan. They can be escorted directly to their hearings from the comfortable quarantine centers.
Certainly Democrats can buy into this plan pretty easily. The migrants they want to protect will receive the best protection the United States can offer them. They’ll get free food, housing, education, and medical care while they’re in quarantine. Then, they’ll get an escort to their asylum hearing so they don’t inadvertently miss it. That should make perfect sense to anyone with a heart.
The only humane way to handle the migrant crisis is to quarantine them once apprehended, treat them well in their migrant centers, and escort them directly to their asylum hearings when the time comes. Everyone wins.
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