“Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade on Monday suggested that a caravan of Central American refugees poses a threat to the U.S. because its members may be carrying “diseases.”

“What about diseases? I mean, there’s a reason you can’t bring a kid to school unless he’s inoculated,” Kilmeade said, speculating about the health of the caravan members without elaborating.

“Is it too much to say that we just can’t have countries, entire populations come in here without being looked at as hard-hearted?” he continued. “To me it’s a practical way of having a nation that everyone looks up to and wants to be a part of. That’s part of the reason America is America. There’s a process.”

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— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) October 29, 2018

{mosads} Kilmeade’s comments came as Republicans and conservatives have for days painted the approaching group of migrants as an imminent threat to national security and the border.

President Trump on Monday morning called the group’s trek toward the U.S. an “invasion” and pledged to use the military to stop people from entering the the country.

Many Gang Members and some very bad people are mixed into the Caravan heading to our Southern Border. Please go back, you will not be admitted into the United States unless you go through the legal process. This is an invasion of our Country and our Military is waiting for you!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2018

Trump’s latest comments come at reports emerged that the Pentagon is prepared to deploy as many as 5,000 active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexican border to stop migrants from crossing. 

The caravan is a group of roughly 4,000 Central Americans, according to recent reports, with most members fleeing violence and poverty in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador in the hopes of making it to the U.S.

Those seeking asylum are legally allowed to do so as long as they enter at designated points of entry.

The group stopped to rest in southern Mexico over the weekend, and is still roughly 1,000 miles from the U.S. border.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen on Sunday did not rule out the possibility that Trump would issue an executive order blocking Central Americans from claiming asylum in the U.S., and stressed that the administration would not permit individuals to enter the country illegally.