USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- A few years back while living in New Mexico I attended a Homeland Security Combating Terrorism Conference. The days were spent watching videos of bombings, explosions, and all manner of terrorist attacks on both American and foreign soil.

However, the briefing that got my attention the most, was a short forty-five minute, New Mexico, state, public health presentation about potential large-scale medical emergencies on the US – Mexican border. The majority of the people attending the conference were from New Mexico and Texas. The big topic on everyone's mind was weapons of mass destruction.

We continued each day of the conference learning how to train, equip, and prepare to deploy, first responder assets. What if, there was a large bombing incident in downtown Dallas that kills a thousand-plus people? Or, what if there is a radiological disaster in Albuquerque (more nukes in that town than anywhere else in the US) that contaminates a large part of the city? The major problem I discovered was no one was prepared or politically able to discuss the “Border Situation.”

Lots of discussion about how to meet a projected crisis, but for the most part it was all done as if the US-Mexico border did not exist on the south end of four of our states. The most powerful “first world” country on this planet is sitting right next door to one of the neediest “third world” countries, with only a partial fence between them.

Another what-if question, what if a new strain of swine flu or smallpox or today (March 2020) the CONVID 19 coronavirus, either naturally or, worse yet, man-manufactured, breaks out in Juarez City, Mexico?

The perception that there is anything that resembles a public health system in the Mexican State of Chihuahua that could deal with the above medical crisis is incorrect.

So where are all the violently ill and, the projected to become violently ill residents of Chihuahua going to go to find serious medical help? At the risk of being politically incorrect, I would suggest they will swarm across the US border and immediately overwhelm US health care.

Prior to the swarming, there will be residents of Chihuahua who are already in the incubation period of the new disease, crossing into the U.S. They will be doing just what the “terrorist” who orchestrated the outbreak in Juarez City wants them to do. They will infect people on the US side of the border, starting the total overload of the medical system. Then the swarming starts.

There are calls by factions within this country to seal off the U.S. border and attempt to get some control. I know it is about jobs and votes and politics. I know no border state politician who wants to get re-elected will take up the banner to secure this country's southern border. But, we are talking about a potential major catastrophic medical crisis, that could shut down day-to-day life in the southern part of the U.S., of course, it will then spread to the rest of North America.

When you start the creation of the domino effect that spreads to the other states, the virus will walk right into Canada and on to Alaska. A senior U.S. Border Patrol Agent spoke at the conference. I asked him what plan was in effect, to handle the potential swarming and the ability to close the border to infected Mexican residents.

His answer was, there is none.

I brought the border issue up at other classes I attended and got the same answer. People would speak to me unofficially, but no one wanted to publicly address the conceivable idea of a catastrophic “terrorist” situation ascending on to US soil from south of the border. The perception in southwest politics is that you cannot survive if you appear too hard-lined on the border issue, even if it is for the safety and security of our country.

It is the same bone of contention that faces an American elected official who comes out opposing some issues of the government of Israel. The first thing that happens is that elected official is accused of being anti-Semitic. He or she back down right away or dies a quick political death. The point here is that thousands of infected Israelis will not be swarming the U.S. border.

We as a nation cannot back down because of perceived political correctness.

We have to make the hard decisions to protect our nation before situations involving weapons of mass destruction cross our border, even if it means the physical denial of entry into this country do to flu or plague-infected foreigners. We are already playing policeman to the world; we cannot also play doctor with the entire world.

Part of the problem is that Mexican ambulances scream across the US border every day “because it is an emergency” and you have to let them in. Mexico will never develop a first world medical system as long as they can keep sending their worst medical crisis to the US to be taken care of for free.

Now years later the nation is facing the COVID-19 coronavirus and they are getting scared. I was receiving information about the COVID-19 as much at twelve plus weeks ago and trying to pass it on to folks both in the first responding business and just people in their private lives.

UT Southwestern Medical Center – Coronavirus Briefing UT Southwestern_Coronavirus Briefing Slides_3.2.20

I use to be the creepy guy passing this potentially health and financially destructive information on, now I am the spooky guy who was right. It did, however, take round-the-clock TV news coverage to achieve this status.

No patting myself on the back, because about a week ago it occurred to me it was no longer an exercise in trying to get the info out, but the real world realization that as a 65 years old, I could contract this and die–that is even more creepy.

Mexico will swarm the border when the virus overwhelms them. The smart ones will not wait to see how bad it will get below our border, they will start coming now. Of course, those who try to be proactive on the US side of the border and attempt measures to stop the swarming will be labeled racists. But remember Mexican is a nationality not a race.

I still remember a Navy medical officer arguing with me at the above conference because I used smallpox as an example since he was adamant smallpox had been eradicated. I told him I did not care what the example virus was, I was more concerned about the swarming from the south and the health detriment to our country. I wonder what the Navy doc thinks about this current crisis. Also, I wonder what the state of New Mexico is doing to get ready to let sick Mexican nationals into their state? Remember Mexico is a “sanctuary state” and the only minority-majority state in the Union.

So there is war in Syria that is pushing refugees into Turkey and they are then forcing them into Greece against the Greek governments' directions. Ethiopia is suffering a plague of locus that is destroying most of the crops as well and almost anything that is trying to grow. Famine is coming. The US southern border will be under attack by every sick person south of the Texas line who can get to our border. The rest of the world is dealing with COVID 19. It is all looking very Biblical to me, but of course, it will all be Trump's fault.

The COVID 19 virus will be here soon enough and the US will suffer. How bad we will suffer remains to be seen.

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About Major Van Harl USAF Ret.:

Major Van E. Harl USAF Ret., a career Police Officer in the U.S. Air Force, was born in Burlington, Iowa, USA, in 1955. He was the Deputy Chief of police at two Air Force Bases and the Commander of Law Enforcement Operations at another. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Infantry School. A retired Colorado Ranger and currently is an Auxiliary Police Officer with the Cudahy PD in Milwaukee County, WI. His efforts now are directed at church campus safely and security training. He believes “evil hates organization.” [email protected]