Mexican National Infected With TB Crosses Border Dozens Of Times

EL PASO, TX. – A Mexican man infected with drug-resistant tuberculosis crossed the border more than 70 times, taking multiple domestic flights in the U.S.

It’s the second time this year that U.S. officials deal with TB-infected travelers. The first one, Andrew Speaker, a 31-year-old Atlanta lawyer, slipped into the U.S. from Europe via a flight from Canada.

“TB is a disease that is caused by bacteria that mostly attacks the lungs and it’s a disease that is very chronic and can be very, very, very serious,” said Dr. Miguel Escobedo of the Centers for Disease Control.

According to the Washington Times, the man from Mexico is Amado Isidro Armendariz Amaya, of Juarez. Over a ten month period, he crossed from Mexico into the United States using bridges in the El Paso area dozens of times, 52 times at the Ysleta port of entry, 17 at the Bridge of the Americas, and twice at the Paso del Norte bridge into downtown El Paso.

Customs and Border Protection officials said they received an alert about the man on April 16th of this year. Within 24 hours, CBP told the Centers for Disease Control that the name given was fake and asked them several times to try and get accurate information from Mexico.

That accurate information did not arrive until May 31st, six weeks after the first alert, at which time the man’s border crossing card was revoked.

The fact that the man provided false information made the case that much more difficult to track. In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said “unfortunately, this individual did not feel compelled to correctly identify himself until late May … It is shameful that this individual went to such great lengths to conceal his identity.”

Dr. Escobedo says he can see why the man hid his identity.

“Sometimes it is understandable that patients may be a little sensitive about TB because TB does carry a stigma.”