Ted Cruz attributes increase in COVID-19 cases in South Texas to undocumented immigrants

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US Senator Ted Cruz faces backlash after saying undocumented immigrants are to blame for the increase in COVID-19 cases in South Texas.

Cruz, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined his Republican colleagues on Wednesday in calling on the Biden administration to fight the record wave of illegal crossings along the Texas-Mexico border that began in the spring.

Cruz called the increase in crossings a humanitarian, national security and public health crisis and urged the Biden administration to preserve Title 42, a rule put in place by former President Donald Trump that denies entry of asylum seekers on the basis of public health.

On ExpressNews.com: “Worst We’ve Seen”: Influx of Migrants Overwhelms Southwest Texas Border Counties

“Most of these arriving illegal immigrants haven’t been vaccinated,” said Cruz. “They are put in cages with other people who are HIV positive; they spread COVID and then release COVID in our communities. This is madness.

In South Texas, we are seeing an increase in #COVID positivity rates and this is a direct result of the release of illegal aliens into communities. pic.twitter.com/VZ67vEdsuj

– Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) July 14, 2021

COVID-19 cases are on the rise again in the United States after months of decline, with the number of new cases per day nearly doubling in the past three weeks, due to the rapidly spreading delta variant, vaccination rates late and July 4th rallies.

Only 43.4% of Texans have received the vaccine. The state is 37th in the nation for vaccinated residents.

On ExpressNews.com: Ted Cruz mocked for blasting Democrats who fled Texas

Some on Twitter have said that Cruz is spreading disinformation. Others accused Cruz of racism and suggested his rhetoric is similar to what has been used in the past to justify violence against minority groups.

Nicholas Christakis is the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Sciences at Yale. Christakis, a medical doctor, is the author of “Apollo’s Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live,” an overview of how the coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we live.

“In 1347, the Jews were blamed for the bubonic plague,” Christakis wrote on Twitter. “In the 1990s, homosexuals were blamed for HIV. In 2020, immigrants are blamed for COVID. The weak-minded desire to blame “outsiders” for epidemics dates back thousands of years. And so this man should be deeply ashamed of himself.

In 1347, the Jews were blamed for the bubonic plague. In the 1990s, homosexuals were blamed for HIV. In 2020, immigrants are blamed for COVID. The weak-minded desire to blame “outsiders” for epidemics dates back millennia, as discussed in #ApollosArrow.

And so this man should be deeply ashamed of himself. https://t.co/o683VefGCp

– Nicholas A. Christakis (@NAChristakis) July 15, 2021

Another Twitter user said: “A prerequisite for genocide is literally blaming an ethnic group for the spread of disease, and we are past the preconditions stage.

Shannon Watts is the founder of Moms Demand Action, a group fighting for gun reform.

“On August 2, it will be two years since an armed man – motivated by racism – drove nine hours to El Paso to shoot and kill immigrants,” Watts said. “Ted Cruz knows full well that his dangerous rhetoric puts a target on the back of every brunette in Texas.”

Tejano and the alternative artist Conjunto Veronique Medrano, who lives in San Antonio, blasted Cruz.

“Gurrl the farthest south you’ve come is to go to Cancun,” Medrano said. “So please STOP talking about South Texas. You don’t know anything about this area other than getting on a BP boat to the THEATER or using it for your conservatives to paint the border as a war zone so that it is not.

The most southerly gurrl you’ve come to is to go to Cancun. So please ?’ STOP? ‘ talk about South Texas. You don’t know anything about this area other than getting on a BP ship for the THEATER or using it to have your curators paint the border as a war zone when it isn’t. https://t.co/aCwliDfXGG

– Véronique Medrano? —🎶🌈 (@ Veronique956) July 15, 2021

Cruz also urged U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday to pass a bill to codify Title 42 into law. This is because, he says, the situation along the border has worsened. He also lambasted Biden for halting construction of the border wall and other issues.

“We are in a pandemic,” said Cruz. “Joe Biden likes to talk about the priority he places on the pandemic. “

Cruz suggested that if Biden ended Title 42, COVID positivity rates would skyrocket.

“We are seeing COVID positivity increasing in Laredo. We are seeing COVID positivity increasing in San Antonio, ”said Cruz. “Just yesterday I spoke with the mayor of Uvalde, Texas who said that following the release of illegal immigrants – in Uvalde they see the positivity of COVID increasing. And Biden wants to release even more COVID-positive illegal immigrants. This is madness.

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