Tom Allison /MMFA downplays threat of Mexicans bringing swine flu across the border (+Olbermann, HuffPost)

[UPDATES BELOW]

Tom Allison of Media Matters for America offers "Paranoia pandemic: Conservative media baselessly blame swine flu outbreak on immigrants" (mediamatters.org/items/200904270037). He quotes various rightwing commentators but offers little analysis of his own, never attempting to refute any of their points. While I understand we're supposed to be shocked and mortified by their statements, I don't exactly understand why because Allison doesn't tell us. Apparently we're supposed to tie this in to past attempts by the far-left to claim that diseases coming into the U.S. through illegal immigration aren't a public health risk despite all facts to the contrary. Clearly though, his post is an attempt to deny present reality: Mexico is the epicenter of this swine flu outbreak, and - even if there have been so far no confirmed cases due to illegal immigration - it's only a matter of time. Further:

1. The issue isn't "immigrants" because they have been or will be screened as part of the immigration process. The issue is illegal aliens and also visitors; in the case of the latter, that includes those Mexicans entering the U.S. from Mexico who aren't taking this issue seriously.

2. While most of the cases so far have been in people who visited Mexico, it would be extraordinarily foolish to think that this will be restricted to that.

3. Almost all of those who enter the U.S. as illegal aliens and most who enter as visitors will no doubt at least go first to a large Mexican enclave in a large U.S. city such as Los Angeles, El Paso, or Phoenix. Because of that, this has the potential to become a very grave public health threat. If this breaks out in a barrio in a major city it will quickly spread to the richer parts of that city, and perhaps then the elites might understand the value of border control.

UPDATE: Over at the Huffington Post, Bonnie Fuller offers "Hate-Mongering Conservative Commentators Using Swine Flu to Promote Racism!" (huffingtonpost.com/bonnie-fuller/hate-mongering-conservati_b_192412.html), in which that former women's/celebrity magazines editor dumbs down and further race baits the MMFA article and adds demands ("Responsible members of the Republican party need to speak out IMMEDIATELY against the conservative commentators in their own ranks using swine flu as an excuse to spew out racist hatred."). Although it's incredibly clear that she's simply following MMFA's script, she does not mention or link to them or indicate that she's getting her facts and her argument, such as it is, from another source.

UPDATE 2: Keith Olbermann rips 'n' reads from MMFA here.