Immigration, the Borderlands, and the Resilient Homeland

Contributor: Tom Russo

Yoku Shaw-Taylor’s unique collection of essays explores immigration, the borderlands and the extent to which the homeland is resilient. Russo’s chapter 8 (Pandemic Response), offers a detailed and comprehensive account of the United States response to the COVID-19 pandemic that started in 2019. He concludes that as a nation, it was unprepared for the pandemic, although previous experience with contagious disease outbreaks should have made it ready. The analysis of federal-state-local response uncovers the gaps in the logistics distribution functions of key agencies and required the participation of additional federal agencies, not designated roles in initial federal ESF response plans. The chapter shows that deficiencies in preparedness and planning threatened homeland resilience. Based on Russo’s analysis, it is an open question whether current planning is adequate for building resilience and illustrates a model to improve resilience. The model targets planning around vaccine production, its distribution (venues) and its administration (arm sticks).