Donalds Blames Florida Measles Outbreak on Immigration

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), the Republican nominee for Florida governor, said Sunday that "rampant illegal immigration" is the reason for the measles outbreak in his state — not falling childhood vaccination rates.

He said it on CBS's "Face the Nation," after host Margaret Brennan told him nearly all of Florida sits below the 95% immunization rate needed for measles herd immunity and asked whether his message to Florida parents is to get their kids vaccinated.

"No," Donalds answered.

What He Said

"Actually, my message to Floridians and, quite frankly to Americans is, the reason why we have seen a measles outbreak in certain parts of the country is because of rampant illegal immigration into the United States from the previous administration," Donalds said, per the transcript published by Breitbart News. "Margaret, before Joe Biden went into office, when our borders were basically secure —"

Brennan cut in: "What evidence do you have of that?"

Donalds pointed to outbreaks in El Paso, Texas, and in southwest Florida, where he lives, and said people who entered the country illegally had not been through the vaccination schedule. He said he was talking about older vaccines — measles, mumps and rubella — rather than "the ones today on young kids, that parents do have concerns about."

"You can't have an entire segment of people, more than 10 million, come into your country without that vaccination schedule," he said. "That's how you end up having some of these outbreaks."

Asked directly by Brennan whether he wants immigrants vaccinated, Donalds pivoted to health care costs, saying "the real issue in health care is the cost for Americans and the cost for Floridians" and blaming "the regulatory framework of the Affordable Care Act" for driving prices up. When Brennan said, "So, you want vaccinated immigrants," Donalds replied: "Actually, I want — I just want legal immigrants." He added: "I just want legal immigration with assimilation."