Conservative Fox News commentator Tomi Lahren said members of the migrant caravan will bring diseases like HIV into the United States, according to a tweet from the media intelligence coordinator at Media Matters for America. “There are three confirmed cases of tuberculosis, four cases of HIV/AIDS, and four separate cases of chicken pox,” Lahren said. “People in border states like mine better pull their heads out of the sand real quick. Do you want TB, HIV/AIDS, chicken pox, or hepatitis in your communities and your children’s schools? Because I have a feeling that the warm and fuzzy spirit of compassion doesn’t treat or prevent diseases like those.”
The Mexican state of Baja’s government told Politifact there are no documented cases of tuberculosis, that seven people had chicken pox, and four people had HIV/AIDS. Migrants are not allowed to reside in the United States while they wait for their asylum claims to be processed. The few who have breached a border fence have been detained by U.S authorities.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated with the Baja government’s response to the claims.