Conservative commentator Ann Coulter is blaming “third-world peasants” for the spread of enterovirus D68, a respiratory virus that has broken out in the United States.

Coulter made the accusation in an interview last week with right-wing radio host Lars Larson. While the Centers for Disease Control disputes the conservative claim that enterovirus’ spread is linked to Central American immigrant children, Larson and Coulter refused to accept that judgment, arguing that doctors are afraid to speak the truth about enterovirus because of fear of government retaliation.

“I’ve had a lot of doctors tell me, privately, that this is totally the border surge. […] So not surprisingly, you bring all these third-world peasants in and send them throughout the country, it’s not the Mexican kids dying or the Central American kids dying from this, it’s the Americans because they don’t have the immunities,” Coulter said.