Wisconsin GOP assembly speaker blames 'culture' of immigrants for coronavirus outbreak in leaked recording

In a secret recording taken during a meeting between Wisconsin governor Tony Evers, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos blamed immigrants for the coronavirus outbreak in a Racine County which is in the southeastern part the state, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

“I know the reason at least in my region is because of a large immigrant population where it’s just a difference in culture where people are living much closer and working much closer,” said Vos, who is a Republican.

Responding to Vos's comments, Forward Latino president Darryl Morin said that Hispanics in Racine are contracting coronavirus at a higher rate because many of them are essential workers, not because of their "culture."

"I understood it to be a rather dismissive remark that immigrants and immigrant lives aren’t as much a concern for the speaker," Morin said, adding that Vos should apologize.

But according to Vos, there's "no need to apologize."

"This is once again people trying to look and make something out of a conversation that was 'how do we deal with the coronavirus?'" he said.

The conversation was secretly recorded by a member of Evers' staff and was sent to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this week under the state's open records law.