WATCH: Dr. Fauci Responds To Republicans Blaming Immigrants For COVID-19 — “Let’s Face Reality Here”

As COVID-19 surges, a lot of Republicans have blamed immigrants, insisting that the border, rather than anti-vax conspiracy theories and failure to adhere to safety precautions, is the real cause of the ongoing pandemic. Dr. Anthony Fauci addressed this Sunday morning, saying that immigrants are not the primary cause of the spread.

Dr. Fauci appeared on CNN to discuss the pandemic, including new medications being developed that might have a drastic effect on symptoms and the risk of death from COVID-19. He also addressed the irrational and xenophobic efforts by some to blame immigration for the problem.

Dr. Fauci on polling showing Republicans are blaming immigrants for Covid: "This is not driven by immigrants … the problem is within our own country … let's face reality here." pic.twitter.com/kEjKdk8pHi

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 3, 2021

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“Just look at the data and look at the people who have gotten infected, look at the people who are in the hospital, look at the people who have died. This is not driven by immigrants. This is a problem within our country, the same way it’s a problem in other countries throughout the world. I mean, the idea, when you have 700 thousand Americans dead, and billions and billions and billions of Americans getting infected, you don’t want to look outside for the problem. The problem is within our own country. Certainly immigrants get infected but they’re not the driving force of this. Let’s face reality.”

While Republicans polled blame immigrants and tourists for bringing the virus into the country, the Delta surge has been described as a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” as hospitals report that the majority of patients being seen, and the majority with severe symptoms, are those who have not gotten vaccinated against the virus.