SAVEAMERICA.COM NEWS RELEASE
April 28, 2009 -- For Immediate Release
"Close the border, Mr. President!"
West Coast Pro-Family Organization Urges President Obama to Respond to Parents
by Closing U.S-Mexico Border and Stopping Nonessential Travel
Update: Our May 1 blog, "Good news, flu threat diminished," says why we've ended our call for the border to be closed.
Sacramento, California -- A leading family issues organization on the West Coast is urging President Obama to stop sitting on his hands and take decisive action to protect Americans' health and lives. SaveAmerica.com, the national arm of SaveCalifornia.com, is urging the President to close the Mexican border, prohibit nonessential travel to Mexico, and to temporarily quarantine all passengers arriving from Mexico by air, land or sea.
The never-before-seen Mexican flu has already infected more than 2,000 people in Mexico, reportedly killing 152 people who were mostly young, healthy adults. In the U.S., there are already 68 reported infections, in California, Texas, Kansas, Ohio and New York. The World Health Organization (WHO) has said there are significant "gaps of knowledge" about the Mexican flu - which contains a mix of swine, human and avian (bird) flu viruses.
"This strange virus seems to be passed human-to-human and is potentially fatal," stressed SaveAmerica.com President Randy Thomasson. "For the love of people created in the image of God, President Obama must close the border now and take tough steps to curtail this virus. As commander in chief, he has sworn to preserve, protect and defend Americans. Parents concerned about protecting their children are looking for leadership. Immediate closure of the border will definitely prevent more infections and save lives. If President Obama refuses to protect us from this killer Mexican flu, parents will have no recourse but to keep their children home from school and from other social environments until this growing pandemic is contained."
Symptoms of the Mexican virus are fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some victims have also reported runny nose, sore throat, vomiting and diarrhea. The difficulty in screening for initial infection necessitates the immediate closure of the U.S.-Mexico border. "If a person has been exposed or infected... the person might not be symptomatic at the airport," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said today.
Yesterday, U.S. Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-El Cajon, urged the Obama administration to shut down all "nonessential" travel from Mexico into the United States. "The swine flu presents a serious threat to the American public and we must act aggressively to ensure it's contained," Hunter said. "If the State Department is restricting all nonessential U.S. travel to Mexico as a precaution, similar steps should also be taken to restrict cross-border traffic entering the U.S. from Mexico. Given the San Diego community's close proximity to the border and the fact that nearly 340,000 people enter the U.S. through Southern California's ports of entry every day, the necessary precautions must be taken to ensure this virus does not spread any more."
"Closing the Mexican border will prevent many people from becoming infected or killed by this awful virus," said Thomasson. "You control disease by first drawing a circle around it. Why hasn't this been done yet? The Obama Administration must stop thinking this is about immigration and the economy -- people's health and lives are much more important. The Centers for Disease Control is not living up to its name. Close the border, Mr. President!"
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SaveAmerica.com is the national arm of SaveCalifornia.com, a leading West Coast nonprofit, nonpartisan organization representing children and families. We stand for marriage and family, parental rights, the sanctity of human life, religious freedom, financial freedom, and back-to-basics education.
