Citizenship Catch-22
There's something rotten in the state of Texas. State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, hopes to pass a new bill that will deny citizenship to illegal immigrant children born in the U.S., and like everything in the illegal immigration debate, the bill has its problems. The bottom line, outlined in a Dallas Morning News article, is that, if passed, not only will the bill cost hospitals more money, it will create a community of children who are not getting medical attention.
It works like this: hospitals are currently mandated to treat anyone who comes knocking without asking for proof of insurance. When an uninsured illegal mother has a child and that child becomes a citizen, they are therefore entitled to Medicaid coverage for the first year of their lives, which hospitals recieve as reimbursements. If the child does not recieve citizenship, poof goes the Medicaid money. It's a catch-22 because, while these children and their parents are stealing from the Medicaid system just by being here, they are here, they will get sick, and they will need medical treatment which they will get for free from unreimbursed hospitals anyway.
As such, if passed, illegal immigrant children who, like their parents, will be illegal, will be eligible for free care under EMTALA (but most likely won't get it for fear of deportation, yet another horrible scenario that could go wrong with this bill).
Even the term "anchor baby" is suspect... Illegal immigrants do get perks from having their babies in the U.S. Mothers get prenatal care and a wealth of medicaid benefits, not to mention a chance to stay in the U.S. while their children are minors, based on my own preliminary research. But most illegal immigrants come here for jobs and don't wait for their children to apply for citizenship for them.
All in all, the bill has potential; it could be something that could affect illegal immigration. But until it solves the problem of making a second-class citizenry and not denying children health care while in the U.S., my vote's against it.
It works like this: hospitals are currently mandated to treat anyone who comes knocking without asking for proof of insurance. When an uninsured illegal mother has a child and that child becomes a citizen, they are therefore entitled to Medicaid coverage for the first year of their lives, which hospitals recieve as reimbursements. If the child does not recieve citizenship, poof goes the Medicaid money. It's a catch-22 because, while these children and their parents are stealing from the Medicaid system just by being here, they are here, they will get sick, and they will need medical treatment which they will get for free from unreimbursed hospitals anyway.
As such, if passed, illegal immigrant children who, like their parents, will be illegal, will be eligible for free care under EMTALA (but most likely won't get it for fear of deportation, yet another horrible scenario that could go wrong with this bill).
Even the term "anchor baby" is suspect... Illegal immigrants do get perks from having their babies in the U.S. Mothers get prenatal care and a wealth of medicaid benefits, not to mention a chance to stay in the U.S. while their children are minors, based on my own preliminary research. But most illegal immigrants come here for jobs and don't wait for their children to apply for citizenship for them.
All in all, the bill has potential; it could be something that could affect illegal immigration. But until it solves the problem of making a second-class citizenry and not denying children health care while in the U.S., my vote's against it.
posted by Cassandra Miles at
12:37 PM
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