Border Trade Alliance (BTA) strongly urges the Administration to continue using medical expert guidance, along with a rational and common-sense approach toward dealing with the recent outbreak of H1N1 influenza that has quickly spread across the globe.
Recent statements by elected officials urging the Administration to close the U.S. border with Mexico are without merit. The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and her predecessor Michael Chertoff have all stated that containment of the outbreak to Mexico is no longer an achievable outcome and even in ideal situations, border closures are marginal at best in containing the spread of any infectious disease.
BTA strongly supports federal action to provide support and care for communities impacted with the H1N1 virus and to further engage the public to help mitigate the spread of this virus by employing actions as suggested by leading world health experts.
Pursuit of irrational and purely symbolic actions, such as in closing our borders when experts continue to assert that it is an ineffective strategy, only serves to the detriment of our national economy with negligible results in addressing the situation.
“Isolating our nation from our North American neighbor serves no role in protecting public health and will only impede our economic health,” states Erin Ward, Chair of the Border Trade Alliance.
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