Open Letter
to Our National and Arizona State Leaders, 3/15/24
It is easy to sit in a tall building looking down at what the
common folk must manage and tout your flawed perception of kindness for
all. After suffering through the
pandemic and the many ramifications that effect physical and mental health it
would be wise to use constraint when welcoming anyone to cross our
United States border from who knows where?
My entire working life, as an RN
at the young age of eighteen, I have experienced the disasters of health and
safety, from the Asian flu, Spanish Flu, Ebola, Aids and Covid to name just a
few.
I had nursing students in a
pediatric clinic in Los Angeles where they treated entire families for
tuberculosis. Half the first graders at
an elementary school were treated for over a year with a TB medicine because a
grandmother from Mexico would stand at the gate waiting for her grandchildren
to walk them home…keep them safe. All the while she was coughing at everyone who
left the campus through that gate.
The most dangerous thing law breaking people crossing our
southern border bring to our country along with drugs, is disease. That is why it is important to ensure
everyone entering our country does NOT have a communicable disease.
Catch and release or “return for
a court date” does not work. Our system
should test for disease before anyone can enter. Last year after an extended
stay in Canada, we (as passport carrying citizens) needed to provide a negative
covid test before entering our own country.
I ask, “How is it fair
to legal citizens, working and living in our country for you to release drug
pushing, gang members with the great possibility they carry disease into our cities.
Ellis Island tested immigrants for a variety of diseases including “pink eye.” My grandparents described, “Officials would
lift eyelids with button hooks to look for red sclera of the eye, and a
temperature was taken of each person who departed the ships that were pouring
onto the docks along the east coast. On top of that everyone was required to
have contact with a citizen and resident of the USA to give support during
adjustments to new language and living circumstances.
To prevent a health and economic disaster in our country we
need to carefully re-visit our laws (which are not followed) for health and
safety before people have the privilege of entering our country. We have the law. Why are they Not being adhered
to? Why have other state leaders recognized this crisis. Why are you putting this
burden on hard working law-abiding families.
From a retired Professor of Nursing, Wife, Mother of five and
Grandmother of 14.
