New Jersey state Sen. Diane Allen received harsh criticism after remarks attempting to blame the surge of coronavirus cases on those other than the unvaccinated.
"I mean, right now look at all these people with COVID who are coming across the border, and it scares me," Allen said earlier. "They're put on buses, I suspect some of them are coming up to New Jersey — not a good idea. [But] the people pulled over from the border are carrying illegal guns or drugs, or whatever."
That resulted in a hard-hitting column published by NJ.com
"As faith leaders representing a coalition of more than 420 pastors and ministers statewide, we cannot allow candidates seeking elected office to spread racist and false narratives about valued members of our community. Republican Lieutenant Governor nominee Senator Diane Allen did exactly that by attempting to scapegoat undocumented immigrants as the cause for a recent surge of COVID-19 cases across our country," the faith leaders wrote.
"This type of fear-mongering and immigrant-bashing is an affront to Latinos and hardworking immigrants everywhere," the group wrote. "Sadly, it's nothing new. These shameful remarks are pulled directly from the Donald Trump playbook, and follow a longstanding pattern in U.S. history of blaming immigrants for carrying diseases and infections across the border, a form of 'medical racism.'"
The group noted the rise in hospitalizations was occurring in areas of low vaccinations, not along the border.
"In fact, the states with the highest positivity rates for new cases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, include Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana — states not in close proximity to the border. However, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana do have among the lowest vaccination rates in the country," the group wrote. "Senator Allen should know better. No one seeking elected office in New Jersey should engage in this harmful weaponization of the immigrant plight to advance their political agenda."
Read the full column.
