Undocumented immigrants urged to get COVID-19 vaccine, but many fear arrest, deportation
Although the federal government this week said that undocumented immigrants can — and should — get the COVID-19 vaccine without fear of immigration officials arresting them, some local health advocates say that reassurance may not be enough.
Undocumented immigrants are scared of being found and arrested, detained or deported — and their fears are founded, said Rebecca Nelson, community engagement strategic advisor with Columbus Public Health.
"People do want to get the vaccine but they're weighing that with their fears about what it means to give up their personal information, to get registered, to bring in documentation of who they are," Nelson said. "There's a lot of fears, and I will say a lot of those fears come from the last few years of federal administration. People just don’t trust certain levels of government right now.”
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On Monday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that undocumented immigrants can get the COVID-19 vaccine and that they will not be targeted by immigration officials seeking their removal while getting the immunization.
Not everyone approves of undocumented immigrants being allowed to get the vaccine, however, including U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), the House Republican Whip, who released a statement Tuesday.
“President Biden’s plan to vaccinate illegal immigrants ahead of Americans who are currently being denied the COVID-19 vaccine is a slap in the face to millions of hard-working families who have been waiting months for the vaccine and expect Washington leaders to be looking out for them," Scalise said in the statement.
https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2021/02/04/undocumented-immigrants-covid-vaccine-fear-arrest-deportation/4358676001/
*****I guess Scalise thinks the virus only targets Americans.
