Unfettered illegal immigration could endanger the U.S. food supply and, by extension, national security, according to animal health experts.
Diseases and parasites can spread through mass migration. And as illegal immigrants continue to pour across the U.S.–Mexico border, the usual safeguards for inspection are being ignored.
Migrants line up for immigration processing in Lajas Blancas as merchants offer services in both Spanish and Chinese, in Panama, on Feb. 17, 2024. Bobby Sanchez for The Epoch Times
Dr. Michael Vickers, a veterinarian for nearly 50 years, said the threat to the food supply is evidenced by past cases of tuberculosis (TB) transmitted from illegal immigrants to dairy cows in Texas. And it’s only a matter of time, he said, before a new crisis emerges.
“These people are just destroying our country. And our food supply is going to be a real critical issue,” Vickers told The Epoch Times.
Rules to prevent disease carriers from entering the U.S. have been sidelined by the Biden administration, said Ammon Blair, a border security advocate at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
“We’re really just mass releasing these people into the United States that could be carrying multiple diseases that aren’t even checked,” Blair, a former Border Patrol agent, told The Epoch Times.
Health screenings at the border, he said, consist of asking individuals if they are sick or pregnant. A nurse will then ask them to lift their shirts and walk by to check for signs of skin disease.
“That is the only check they’re given,” Blair said.
Besides TB, illegal immigrants have also brought chicken pox, mumps, measles, leprosy, COVID-19, and sexually transmitted diseases into the country. And large-scale agriculture operations are known for hiring illegal immigrants as a form of cheap labor, Blair said.
And recent fever tick and screwworm outbreaks already pose a threat to the nation’s cattle at a time when their number nationally is at a 75-year low.
But Vickers said he thought it was no coincidence that food production is down under the Biden administration, which partially blames agriculture for climate change.
—Darlene McCormick Sanchez and Samantha Flom
(Left) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference in Miami Beach, Fla., on Feb. 5, 2024. (Right) Walt Disney World's iconic Cinderella Castle sits on the grounds of the theme park in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 8, 2023. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
CREDITS ROLL ON DISNEY-DESANTIS FEUD
The years-long feud between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis may have a happy ending after all.
As part of a settlement agreement reached yesterday (March 27), Disney will drop two active lawsuits against the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD)—the board DeSantis hand-picked to replace the company’s self-governing improvement district.
CFTOD, among other concessions, agreed to drop its counterclaims against Disney and negotiate a development agreement.
DeSantis’s office praised the settlement in a statement.
“No corporation should be its own government,” said Brian Griffin, the governor’s communications director. “Moving forward, we stand ready to work with Disney and the district to help promote economic growth, family-friendly tourism, and accountable government in Central Florida.”
DeSantis later told reporters that he believed leadership at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts was ready to move forward with development talks.
“I think that there’s going to be ways where, you know, we can do things that are in the best interests of the state of Florida. And I think Disney can be a part of that,” he said.
Universal, DeSantis noted, is building a new Epic Universe theme park, which he expects to be “a huge, huge game changer” for the region.
“I got to think Disney would have an interest in maybe offering another [park]. The district will be ready to negotiate something to be able to be good for the state of Florida, be good for jobs—it’d be good for all those things.”
—T.J. Muscaro and Samantha Flom
BOOKMARKS
A California judge has recommended that attorney John Eastman, who advised President Donald Trump in contesting the 2020 election results, be disbarred. The recommendation goes to the California Supreme Court which will decide on whether Eastman should lose his state law license.
Former senator and vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman has passed away at age 82, The Epoch Times’ Bill Pan reports.
Enforcement of a Texas law allowing the state to arrest and deport illegal immigrants has been blocked by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, The Epoch Times’ Chase Smith reports. The divided panel’s decision comes one week after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the law to take effect.
The Supreme Court has declined to hear former Covington Catholic student Nicholas Sandmann’s defamation case against several media outlets, The Epoch Times’ Zachary Stieber reports. The decision comes after the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s dismissal of the case.
One of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s siblings fears his independent presidential bid could help to elect former President Donald Trump, The Epoch Times’ Aldgra Fredly reports. Rory Kennedy’s comments follow her brother’s announcement of attorney Nicole Shanahan as his running mate.
President Trump has announced a partnership with country singer Lee Greenwood to promote the “God Bless the USA Bible,” The Epoch Times’ Aldgra Fredly reports. The move comes as the former president faces mounting legal bills.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) has been sued for defamation after wrongly identifying a man as an illegal immigrant and one of the culprits behind the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting, The Epoch Times’ Zachary Stieber reports. The lawsuit claims Burchett’s social media post caused the football fan $75,000 in damages.
