Thomas uses scare tactics on immigration

Cal Thomas’ op ed on Dec. 22 compared the migration of people through Mexico to the use of cream in coffee, saying that as you add cream, the result becomes more cream than coffee. Then he shifts to his concern with migrants coming into El Paso, immediately linking migrants with fentanyl. This is a scare tactic. While illicit fentanyl is a serious problem, the main source is China, not Mexico. While some migrants may be carrying fentanyl, it is absurd to suppose that all migrants are. I found one case of a man carrying 71 pounds of fentanyl in his car, entering through Arizona, not crossing the Rio Grande on foot. Through 2022 according to WOLA (Advocacy for Human Rights in the Americas), while the greatest number are Mexicans, the migrants are fleeing violence and insecurity from many countries, including Cuba, a few South American countries and most Central American countries, but also, Russia, India, Turkey, China, and Romania. The best thing the U.S. can do is receive them with hospitality: kindness and the practical help to get settled in the country.

Thomas mentions the CDC reports that 107,000 people have died from drug overdoses in the U.S. over 12 months, two-thirds from fentanyl. To link migrants and fentanyl without evidence is a scare tactic and bad journalism.

Jeremy Brigham

Cedar Rapids