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(http://www.newsmax.com)
Jim Meyers, NewsMax.com
Monday, May 2, 2005
Many of the 19 million Americans who
go without health insurance for a
full year are actually illegal
immigrants, according to a new
report.
Democrats have been carping about
the health insurance crisis by
citing the number of uninsured
Americans at as high as 45 million.
But the Census Bureau's Survey of
Income and Program Participation
found that only 19 million Americans
go without health insurance for a
full year.
States with the highest
concentration of the uninsured are
those that border Mexico and their
neighbors, and states with large
populations of illegal immigrants –
New York, Illinois and Florida.
"There might be as many as 11
million illegal immigrants in this
country," reports Investor's
Business Daily (IBD).
"Of the 19 million who go without
insurance for a full year, how many
of them are undocumented workers?
It's impossible to know exactly. But
in any case, it would be a large
share."
Undocumented workers have
contributed to the Los Angeles
County Health Department's $1.2
billion deficit. Last year the
county spent $340 million to treat
uninsured patients, and the state
was hit with $1.4 billion in
unreimbursed health care costs.
Texas spent $850 million, and
Arizona, $400 million.
One solution to the problem is to
deny treatment to patients who
cannot prove their citizenship or
show they have health insurance, but
that is likely to prove politically
impossible, according to IBD. "A
better answer is to secure our
borders and put a lot of pressure on
Mexico to fix its economy."
ATTENTION
MEXICANS!
THE ARIZONA
BORDER IS
NOW OPEN FOR
BUSINESS!
 (Posted
at
http://boortz.com/nuze/index.html
5/13/05)
Do
you remember
those
"Minutemen"
along the
Arizona
border?
Apparently
those
volunteers
have
embarrassed
the U.S.
Border
Patrol.
According to
a story in
this
morning's
Washington
Times
(Text is
posted
below)
the Border
Patrol has
ordered
agents along
the very
same section
of the
border that
was
patrolled
last month
by Minutemen
to go easy
on
apprehending
and
arresting
illegals
coming into
this
country.
Why?
Evidently it
is hoped
that if
there are
few arrests
along this
section of
the border
it will
prove
somehow that
the
Minutemen
were not
effective.
Here's
how it
works. When
the
Minutemen
were
patrolling
the Arizona
border the
numbers of
arrests of
illegals
went down.
The Border
Patrol was
anxious to
come up with
some
explanation
for the
reduction in
arrests ...
some
explanation
that
discounted
the efforts
of the
Minutemen.
Officials
came up with
some cock
and bull
story about
the Mexican
military
being
deployed
south of the
border and
the
effectiveness
of some new
U.S. program
called the
Arizona
Border
Control
Initiative.
All of this
would be
exposed for
the BS that
it is if the
number of
arrests
suddenly
went up as
soon as the
Minutemen
left.
The
Border
Patrol is
part of the
executive
branch of
the U.S.
government.
George Bush
is the
boss.
Ultimately
the
president
calls the
shots at the
Border
Patrol. Is
this just
another
indication
of Bush's
weak stance
on illegal
immigration?
The answer
would be
"yes."
So now
we're going
to allow
more illegal
aliens to
invade this
country
because
we're
worried that
some
civilian
volunteers
might make
the
government
look bad.
Civilian
volunteers
can almost
always be
counted on
to make the
government
look bad.
Civilian
volunteers
aren't
shackled by
the dictates
of political
correctness,
and civilian
volunteers
don't
particularly
care what
the leaders
of foreign
countries,
who don't
have our
best
interest at
heart
anyway, have
to say about
any
particular
policy
issue. This
type of
political
correctness
is going to
come at a
terrible
price.
Illegals
that break
the law and
sneak across
the border
often commit
crimes.
These are
crimes that
will have
victims.
Those
victims will
pay for the
decisions
made by
bureaucrats
who don't
want to
control the
border.
The
Minutemen
never would
have showed
up if the
United
States
government
was doing
its job to
police the
border and
keep out
illegal
aliens. How
on Earth can
we ever be
expected to
secure this
country when
potential
terrorists
can just
stroll right
across into
the U.S.?
At this
rate, the
border will
never be
secure ...
at least not
until the
people of
this country
make certain
that their
politicians
know that
this is what
they not
only want,
but insist
on.
Border Patrol told
to stand down in
Arizona
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
(
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20050513-122032-5055r.htm
)
U.S. Border
Patrol agents have
been ordered not to
arrest illegal
aliens along the
section of the
Arizona border where
protesters patrolled
last month because
an increase in
apprehensions there
would prove the
effectiveness of
Minuteman
volunteers, The
Washington Times has
learned.
More than a
dozen agents, all of
whom asked not to be
identified for fear
of retribution, said
orders relayed by
Border Patrol
supervisors at the
Naco, Ariz., station
made it clear that
arrests were "not to
go up" along the
23-mile section of
border that the
volunteers monitored
to protest illegal
immigration.
"It was clear to
everyone here what
was being said and
why," said one
veteran agent. "The
apprehensions were
not to increase
after the Minuteman
volunteers left. It
was as simple as
that."
Another agent
said the Naco
supervisors "were
clear in their
intention" to keep
new arrests to an
"absolute minimum"
to offset the effect
of the Minuteman
vigil, adding that
patrols along the
border have been
severely limited.
Border Patrol
Chief David V.
Aguilar at the
agency's Washington
headquarters called
the accusations
"outright wrong,"
saying that
supervisors at the
Naco station had not
blocked agents from
making arrests and
that the station's
350 agents were
being "supported in
carrying out" their
duties.
"Border Patrol
agents are the front
line of defense
against terrorism,"
Chief Aguilar said,
adding that the
11,000 agents
nationwide are
"meeting that
challenge, head-on
... as daunting a
task as that may
sound."
The chief -- a
former head of the
agency's Tucson
sector, which
includes the Naco
station -- said that
with the world
watching the Arizona
border because of
the Minuteman
Project, agents in
Naco "demonstrated
flexibility and
resilience in
carrying out their
critical homeland
security duties and
responsibilities."
But Rep. Tom
Tancredo, Colorado
Republican,
yesterday said
"credible sources"
within the Border
Patrol also had told
him of the decision
by Naco supervisors
to keep new arrests
to a minimum, saying
he was angry but not
surprised.
"It's like
telling a cop to
stand by and watch
burglars loot a
store but don't
arrest any of them,"
he said. "This is
another example of
decisions being made
at the highest
levels of the Border
Patrol that are
hurting morale and
helping to rot the
agency from within.
"I worry about
our efforts in
Congress to increase
the number of
agents," he said.
"Based on these
kinds of orders, we
could spend the
equivalent of the
national debt and
never have secure
borders."
Mr. Tancredo,
chairman of the
Congressional
Immigration Reform
Caucus, blamed the
Bush administration
for setting an
immigration
enforcement tone
that suggests to
those enforcing the
law that he is not
serious about secure
borders.
"We need to get
the president to
come to grips with
the seriousness of
the problem," he
said. "I know he
doesn't like to
utter the words, 'I
was wrong,' but if
we have another
incident like
September 11 by
people who came
through our borders
without permission,
I hope he doesn't
have to say 'I'm
sorry.' "
During the
Minuteman vigil,
Border Patrol
supervisors in
Arizona discounted
their efforts,
saying a drop in
apprehensions during
their protest was
because of the
Mexican government's
deployment of
military and police
south of the
targeted area and a
new federal program
known as the Arizona
Border Control
Initiative that
brought manpower
increases to the
state.
The Naco
supervisors blamed
the volunteers for
unnecessarily
tripping sensors,
disturbing draglines
and interfering with
the normal
operations of the
agents. They said
that their impact on
illegals was
"negligible" and
that civilians
should leave
immigration
enforcement "to the
professionals."
Several field
agents credited the
volunteers with
cutting the flow of
illegal aliens in
the targeted Naco
area, saying the
number of
apprehended illegals
dropped from an
average of 500 a day
to less than 15 a
day.
More than 850
volunteers, in a
protest of the lax
immigration
enforcement policies
of the White House
and Congress, sought
to reduce the flow
of illegal aliens
along a popular
immigration corridor
on the
Arizona-Mexico
border near Naco by
reporting illegals
to the Border Patrol
as they crossed into
the United States.
Their goal was
to show that
increased manpower
on the border would
effectively deter
illegal immigration.
Organizers said the
protest resulted in
Border Patrol
arrests of 349
illegal aliens.
Area residents,
in a half-page ad in
the Sunday edition
of the Sierra Vista
Herald, told the
volunteers: "Thanks
for doing what our
government won't --
close the border to
illegal aliens. It
was the quietest
month we've had in
many years ... You
made us feel safe
because the border
was closed."
Allen ODonnell wrote:
What is your opinion of using
taxpayer's monies to pay for "illegals"
in the U.S.?
BTW - did you know that this was
being considered by the Congress for
inclusion in our budget?
I wonder what the federal
government, and the state
governments now spend on "illegal
aliens" presently living in America
today? It must be a very pretty
penny. Yes, it must be quite a few
billions of American dollars. I have
heard that more "illegals"
will enter into America this year
than ever before. I wonder if this
is true. I'd like to see a
comparison on the monies we now
spend on our military forces in Iraq
with monies being given to
"illegal" aliens. That would be
interesting; in fact, that might
explain many, many economic 'things'
for the American taxpayer. Please
share...
________________________________
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health/223556_immig10.html
U.S. pays for care of illegal aliens'
Treatment money for border states
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
By ROBERT PEAR
THE NEW YORK TIMES
WASHINGTON -- The Bush
administration said yesterday that
it would start paying hospitals and
doctors for providing emergency care
to illegal immigrants.
The money, totaling $1 billion, will
be available for services provided
from today through September 2008.
Congress provided the money as part
of the 2003 law that expanded
Medicare to cover prescription
drugs, but the new payments have
nothing to do with the Medicare
program.
Members of Congress from border
states had sought the money. They
said treatment of illegal immigrants
imposed a huge financial burden on
many hospitals, which are required
to provide emergency care to
patients who need it, regardless of
their immigration status or ability
to pay.
Under the new program, hospitals are
supposed to ask patients for
documents to substantiate payment
claims. But Dr. Mark McClellan,
administrator of the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services, said
a hospital should not directly ask a
patient "if he or she is an
undocumented alien."
Instead, he said, hospitals can try
to establish a patient's status by
analyzing the answers to "indirect
questions": Is the person eligible
for Medicaid? (If so, payment is
generally not available under the
new program.) Has the person
reported a foreign place of birth?
Does the person have a
border-crossing card like those
issued to Mexican citizens? Does the
person have a foreign passport, a
foreign driver's license or a
foreign identification card?
The Bush administration abandoned a
proposal that would have required
many hospitals to ask patients if
they were U.S. citizens or legal
immigrants.
"In no circumstances are hospitals
required to ask people about their
citizenship status," McClellan said
yesterday.
Hospital executives and immigrant
rights groups had said such
questions would deter illegal
immigrants from seeking care and
could lead to serious public health
problems by increasing the spread of
communicable diseases.
Cecilia Munoz, a vice president of
the National Council of La Raza, a
Latino civil rights group, said the
new requirements were an improvement
over the original proposal but would
still discourage some immigrants
from seeking treatment.
"Hospitals will have to ask
confusing, highly technical
questions about immigration
documents," Munoz said. "That will
create a perception in the Latino
community that you have to show your
papers in order to get emergency
care. That's a misperception, but it
may be enough to deter some people
from seeking care."
The new program is run by the
Department of Health and Human
Services. McClellan said the
department would not provide
information about illegal immigrants
to law enforcement officials for use
in "routine civil immigration
proceedings." But in rare cases, he
said, the information may be used in
criminal investigations.
The largest allocations this fiscal
year are going to California, which
will receive $70.8 million; Texas,
$46 million; Arizona, $45 million;
New York, $12.3 million; Illinois,
$10.3 million; Florida, $8.7
million; and New Mexico, $5.1
million.
http://209.25.133.193/img/legupdateemail.jpg
U.S. Senate Approves REAL ID
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate
unanimously approved (100-0) the
conference agreement on the
Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations Act. As mentioned,
the conference agreement contains
Rep. Sensenbrenner's (R-WI) REAL ID
Act, as well as additional funding
offered by Sen. Byrd (D-WV) for
border and interior enforcement.
Now that H.R. 1268 has cleared both
bodies of Congress, it heads to the
president's desk for his signature.
We expect he will sign the bill
within the week.
HERE'S A RECAP ON WHAT WE WON...
* BAN ON DRIVER'S LICENSES FOR
ILLEGAL ALIENS: Under the REAL ID
provisions, all states must require
proof of lawful presence in the U.S.
if their driver's licenses are to be
accepted as a form of identification
to a federal official. Boarding a
commercial airplane and entering a
federal building or a nuclear power
plant are among the official federal
purposes. Some concessions were made
allowing states to issue "driving
certificates" that do not meet the
national requirements, but they
would not be valid for official
purposes. The terms of these cards
would be a maximum of one year.
While we oppose the issuance of
these driving certificates, they
will make it easy for state and
local law enforcement to identify
and detain illegal aliens during the
course of their normal activities.
* MORE DRIVER'S LICENSE SECURITY:
Temporary driver's licenses issued
to foreign visitors by a state must
expire when the visitor's visa
expires, with a maximum term of one
year. Had this been in place prior
to 9/11, the illegal aliens among
the terrorist hijackers who
overstayed their visas would not
have had valid driver's licenses.
* EXPEDITES COMPLETION OF
U.S./MEXICO BORDER FENCE: Provides
the Secretary of Homeland Security
authority, subject to federal
judicial review of Constitutional
questions, to waive laws hampering
the completion of border fences and
roads for national security
purposes. This will expedite
completion of the border fence along
the dangerous San Diego/Tijuana
border.
* INADMISSIBLITY AND DEPORTATION OF
TERRORISTS: Ensures all
terrorism-related grounds of
inadmissibility to the U.S. are
grounds for deportation from the
U.S.
* ASYLUM REFORMS: The REAL ID
provisions will help weed out
fraudulent asylum applications by
allowing immigration judges to
determine witness credibility in
asylum cases.
* LIMITS DEPORTATION-DELAYING
APPEALS: Provides reforms to ensure
the prompt removal from the U.S. of
terrorists, criminal aliens, and
illegal aliens after proper judicial
review. Aliens order deported will
no longer be able to abuse the
appeals process to remain in the
country.
* INCREASES ENFORCEMENT AGENTS AND
DETENTION SPACE: The final bill
includes funding for 500 additional
border patrol agents, 50 immigration
and customs inspectors, 168
enforcement agents and detention
officers, and 1,950 detention beds.
(This funding was added by Senator
Robert Byrd (D-WV) during Senate
floor consideration.)
MODEST CONCESSIONS WERE MADE, BUT
OVERALL, STILL A BIG VICTORY!
Cheap labor proponents and
open-border advocates fought
vigorously to make this bill a
vehicle for amnesty, foreign worker
increases, and other immigration
liberalizing provisions. They were
far from successful. With your help,
we defeated Sen. Craig's massive
AgJOBS amnesty/guestworker bill.
Some concessions were made during
negotiations and the following
foreign worker increases were
accepted...
* H-2B SEASONAL GUESTWORKER
INCREASE: The Mikulski amendment was
included in the final bill,
exempting H-2B seasonal guestworkers
who have worked in the U.S. in the
past from the 65,000 annual cap.
* FOREIGN NURSE INCREASE: An
additional 50,000 foreign nurses
will be permitted.
* INCREASE FOR AUSTRALIAN WORKERS:
About 10,500 Australian guestworkers
will be allowed to enter the country
annually under terms similar to the
H-1B high-tech visa category.
Despite these modest concessions,
this is still a HUGE VICTORY for the
immigration reform movement!
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ILLEGAL Aliens, Borders, and MinuteMan Project
