WND | March 13, 2005
Cristobal Silverio emigrated illegally from Mexico to Stockton, Calif., in 1997 to work as a fruit picker.

He brought with him his wife, Felipa, and three children, 19, 12 and 8 – all illegals. When Felipa gave birth to her fourth child, daughter Flor, the family had what is referred to as an "anchor baby" – an American citizen by birth who provided the entire Silverio clan a ticket to remain in the U.S. permanently.


But Flor was born premature, spent three months in the neonatal incubator and cost the San Joaquin Hospital more than $300,000. Meanwhile, oldest daughter Lourdes married an illegal alien gave birth to a daughter, too. Her name is Esmeralda. And Felipa had yet another child, Cristian.

The two Silverio anchor babies generate $1,000 per month in public welfare funding for the family. Flor gets $600 a month for asthma. Healthy Cristian gets $400. While the Silverios earned $18,000 last year picking fruit, they picked up another $12,000 for their two "anchor babies."

While President Bush says the U.S. needs more "cheap labor" from south of the border to do jobs Americans aren't willing to do, the case of the Silverios shows there are indeed uncalculated costs involved in the importation of such labor – public support and uninsured medical costs.

In fact, the increasing number of illegal aliens coming into the United States is forcing the closure of hospitals, spreading previously vanquished diseases and threatening to destroy America's prized health-care system, says a report in the spring issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons.

"The influx of illegal aliens has serious hidden medical consequences," writes Madeleine Pelner Cosman, author of the report. "We judge reality primarily by what we see. But what we do not see can be more dangerous, more expensive, and more deadly than what is seen."

According to her study, 84 California hospitals are closing their doors as a direct result of the rising number of illegal aliens and their non-reimbursed tax on the system.

"Anchor babies," the author writes, "born to illegal aliens instantly qualify as citizens for welfare benefits and have caused enormous rises in Medicaid costs and stipends under Supplemental Security Income and Disability Income."

In addition, the report says, "many illegal aliens harbor fatal diseases that American medicine fought and vanquished long ago, such as drug-resistant tuberculosis, malaria, leprosy, plague, polio, dengue, and Chagas disease."

While politicians often mention there are 43 million without health insurance in this country, the report estimates that at least 25 percent of those are illegal immigrants. The figure could be as high as 50 percent.

Not being insured does not mean they don't get medical care.

Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1985, hospitals are obligated to treat the uninsured without reimbursement.

"Government imposes viciously stiff fines and penalties on any physician and any hospital refusing to treat any patient that a zealous prosecutor deems an emergency patient, even though the hospital or physician screened and declared the patient's illness or injury non-emergency," says the report. "But government pays neither hospital nor physician for treatments. In addition to the fiscal attack on medical facilities and personnel, EMTALA is a handy truncheon with which to pummel politically unpopular physicians by falsely accusing them of violating EMTALA."

According to the report, between 1993 and 2003, 60 California hospitals closed because half their services became unpaid. Another 24 California hospitals verge on closure, the author writes.

"American hospitals welcome 'anchor babies,'" says the report. "Illegal alien women come to the hospital in labor and drop their little anchors, each of whom pulls its illegal alien mother, father, and siblings into permanent residency simply by being born within our borders. Anchor babies are citizens, and instantly qualify for public welfare aid: Between 300,000 and 350,000 anchor babies annually become citizens because of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside."

Among the organizations directing illegal aliens into America's medical systems, according to the report, are the Ford Foundation-funded Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the National Immigration Law Center, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association's Commission on Immigration Policy, Practice, and Pro Bono, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, the National Council of La Raza, George Soros's Open Society Institute, the Migration Policy Institute, the National Network for Immigration and Refugee Rights and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Because drug addiction and alcoholism are classified as diseases and disabilities, the fiscal toll on the health-care system rises.

When Linda Torres was arrested in Bakersfield, Calif., with about $8,500 in small bills in a sack, the police originally thought it was stolen money, explained the report. It was her Social Security lump sum for her disability -- heroin addiction.

"Today, legal immigrants must demonstrate that they are free of communicable diseases and drug addiction to qualify for lawful permanent residency green cards," writes Cosman, a medical lawyer, who formerly taught medical students at the City University of New York. "Illegal aliens simply cross our borders medically unexamined, hiding in their bodies any number of communicable diseases."

Many illegals entering this country have tuberculosis, according to the report.

"That disease had largely disappeared from America, thanks to excellent hygiene and powerful modern drugs such as isoniazid and rifampin," says the report. "TB's swift, deadly return now is lethal for about 60 percent of those infected because of new Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis. Until recently MDR-TB was endemic to Mexico. This Mycobacterium tuberculosis is resistant to at least two major anti-tubercular drugs. Ordinary TB usually is cured in six months with four drugs that cost about $2,000. MDR-TB takes 24 months with many expensive drugs that cost around $250,000 with toxic side effects. Each illegal with MDR-TB coughs and infects 10 to 30 people, who will not show symptoms immediately. Latent disease explodes later.

TB was virtually absent in Virginia until in 2002, when it spiked a 17 percent increase, but Prince William County, just south of Washington, D.C., had a much larger rise of 188 percent. Public health officials blamed immigrants. In 2001 the Indiana School of Medicine studied an outbreak of MDR-TB, and traced it to Mexican illegal aliens. The Queens, New York, health department attributed 81 percent of new TB cases in 2001 to immigrants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ascribed 42 percent of all new TB cases to 'foreign born' people who have up to eight times higher incidences apparently, 66 percent of all TB cases coming to America originate in Mexico, the Philippines and Vietnam."

Other health threats from illegals include, according to the report:

Chagas disease, also called American trypanosomiasis or "kissing bug disease," is transmitted by the reduviid bug, which prefers to bite the lips and face. The protozoan parasite that it carries, Trypanosoma cruzi, infects 18 million people annually in Latin America and causes 50,000 deaths. The disease also infiltrates America's blood supply. Chagas affects blood transfusions and transplanted organs. No cure exists. Hundreds of blood recipients may be silently infected.
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, was so rare in America that in 40 years only 900 people were afflicted. Suddenly, in the past three years America has more than 7,000 cases of leprosy. Leprosy now is endemic to northeastern states because illegal aliens and other immigrants brought leprosy from India, Brazil, the Caribbean and Mexico.

Dengue fever is exceptionally rare in America, though common in Ecuador, Peru, Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Mexico. Recently, according to the report, there was a virulent outbreak of dengue fever in Webb County, Texas, which borders Mexico. Though dengue is usually not a fatal disease, dengue hemorrhagic fever routinely kills.
Polio was eradicated from America, but now reappears in illegal immigrants as do intestinal parasites, says the report.

Malaria was obliterated, but now is re-emerging in Texas.

The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons report includes a strong prescription for protecting the health of Americans:

Closing America's borders with fences, high-tech security devices and troops.

Rescinding the U.S. citizenship of "anchor babies."

Punishing the aiding and abetting of illegal aliens as a crime.

An end to amnesty programs.

This is going on all over the country.

But, we will still never do a thing about our borders.

See it all the time here in Dallas.
Enough ticks will bleed any dog dry.
IBTL for coming thread with CoC violations about immigrants.

wganz
¶

Don't even get me started.................

Drink your Kool-Aid and shut up.

¿Qué? No puedo oírle...

I wonder if 60 years from now, Americans will have to sneak into Canada to get a job. The Mexicans turned their country to shit, and now they're slowly doing the same to ours.

Well, even though I can't make it down there right now, we here in Arizona ARE going to TRY something. Doing something is better than doing nothing.

Yes, I'm refering to the Minuiteman Project.

Quoted: I wonder if 60 years from now, Americans will have to sneak into Canada to get a job. The Mexicans turned their country to shit, and now they're slowly doing the same to ours.

Unless you guys can unscrew your country, we don't want ya

y'all need to plant soem nice mines on your border till the illegals learn to only cross legally

Quoted: I wonder if 60 years from now, Americans will have to sneak into Canada to get a job. The Mexicans turned their country to shit, and now they're slowly doing the same to ours.

and the irony would be that the UN, or whatever its called then, would send whatever troops were needed to help secure the canadian border. for some reason its only wrong when the us wants to act in its own self interest. its encouraged for all other countries.

Illegal Immigration is all about Money. And Money is what makes the world go round. There is NOTHING anyone can say or do to stop Illegal Immigration to the US. I repeat, NOTHING. Americans don't have the balls to stop it. They are whipped and will keep on paying out the TAX MONEY.

"Hard working people in search of a better life"
-GWB


"Doing the jobs americans wont do."
-GWB


"Family values dont stop at the Rio Grande."
-GWB


BTW: the concept of "anchor babies", and the INS unwillingness to "break up families" is a load of crab.  If the child is legal but the parents are illegal then deport the parents.  they can decide to take the child with them to mexico, or it can remain here and be raised by the state.  either is cheaper than allowing the entire family of illegals to remain.

Quoted: Maybe that will get Californians off their rears to write to the Congresscritters to stop the Flood!

This problem isnt new.  Been going on for years.  Even liberal weany Gov. Gray Davis was always bugging the Feds about the immigration problem.   The voters passed the first proposition on trying to stem the tide of illegal immigration back in 1994 with prop 187.

Stiff penalties for refuasal of treatment should ONLY apply to American citizens.  You illegal fuckers should be put in a plane and dropped kicked out the door above southern Brazil.  Now lets see you make it back into this country.   YOUR NOT WELCOME HERE.

Easier than getting the smell out I guess.

If Americans aren't doing the jobs, it's because a FRICKING MEXICAN IS ALREADY DOING IT!

Quoted: If Americans aren't doing the jobs, it's because a FRICKING MEXICAN IS ALREADY DOING IT!

Yeah the American dream is to master a leaf blower. I dont mind the illegals, they work 50x as hard as any white trailer trash redneck or ghetto folk. At least around me anyways. Its the "Americans" around me that are abusing the system. I say ship out the lazy ass "americans" who live off welfare and let someone who will work for a living take their place.

Quoted: Illegal Immigration is all about Money. And Money is what makes the world go round. There is NOTHING anyone can say or do to stop Illegal Immigration to the US. I repeat, NOTHING. Americans don't have the balls to stop it. They are whipped and will keep on paying out the TAX MONEY.

You're exactly right. And the one's who do have the balls to do something are labeled as racists, extremists, psychos, etc.

Quoted: Yeah the American dream is to master a leaf blower. I dont mind the illegals, they work 50x as hard as any white trailer trash redneck or ghetto folk. At least around me anyways. Its the "Americans" around me that are abusing the system. I say ship out the lazy ass "americans" who live off welfare and let someone who will work for a living take their place.

While you have a couple of points I agree with come visit the county hospital I work at in down town L.A. and see how many of the patients are lazy Americans.

Quoted: Quoted: Good! Maybe that will get Californians off their rears to write to the Congresscritters to stop the Flood! You know President Bush and the Mexican Fox are going to meet next week on...immigration! Of course, nothing will happen. Or should I say, 'nada' will happen? Eric The(Nativist)Hun Along with the other 49 states that suffer from the illegal immigration issue. A Los Angeles suburb crowd had a pretty good hand in getting Bushes' ICE departments attention when thousand of people showed up to protest the shut down of the local ICE office's immigrant sweeps which were netting dozens of illegals a day. The Bush administration, like the Clinton one before it, had their lawyers shut down local and state efforts to enforce federal immigration laws and at the same time refusing to accept responsibility one for the thousands of illegals crossing the border each night. I've been saying this for years, that it's going to take the deaths of several thousands of Americans before either party is going to do jack shit about the cancer of illegal immigration.

Sometimes I think even that wont do it.  After all, the 9/11 hijackers became illegal aliens to moment they lied on their VISA forms for the reason for entry, or over stayed their Visa's.  They then murdered about 3,000 people.  People got angry about that, but misdirected that anger largely.

Quoted: "Hard working people in search of a better life" -GWB "Doing the jobs americans wont do." -GWB "Family values dont stop at the Rio Grande." -GWB

Translation: inexpensive, taxpayer subsidized labor force for small business.

Americans will not have had enough until we hit the very bottom. Can't come soon enough for me.

Quoted: You know President Bush and the Mexican Fox are going to meet next week on...immigration! Of course, nothing will happen. Eric The(Nativist)Hun

They will be discussing the "TOTALITY AGREEMENT" they are trying to finalize
This is the agreement that we(USA) make with other governments to pay citizens
.............

wait for it............

.............

Social Security Benefits

Which will be available for illegal aliens when they go back to Mexico

They are building a United States Social Security Office in MEXICO CITY(heh)

The Bush administration, like the Clinton one before it, had their lawyers shut down local and state efforts to enforce federal immigration laws and at the same time refusing to accept responsibility one for the thousands of illegals crossing the border each night.

Thats just plain wrong. I wonder if BICE in wisconsin has some kind of non intervention policy becuase they wont do nothing about illegal workers here.

"

Today, legal immigrants must demonstrate that they are free of communicable diseases and drug addiction to qualify for lawful permanent residency green cards," writes Cosman, a medical lawyer, who formerly taught medical students at the City University of New York. "Illegal aliens simply cross our borders medically unexamined, hiding in their bodies any number of communicable diseases."

Well coming from world net daily. A paper owned by reverend moon i guess that makes it true.

www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,150750,00.html

L.A. Emergency Rooms Full of Illegal Immigrants

Friday, March 18, 2005

LOS ANGELES — This is part three of a five-part series looking at how illegal immigration affects U.S. border security, the criminal, health care and education systems, as well as the economy. Watch the series this week on FOX News Channel.

Overburdened by the uninsured and overwhelmed by illegal immigration (search), public health care in Los Angeles is on life support.

Sixty percent of the county's uninsured patients are not U.S. citizens. More than half are here illegally. About 2 million undocumented aliens in Los Angeles County alone are crowding emergency rooms because they can't afford to see a doctor.

According to the State Association of Hospitals (search), California's public health system is "on the brink of collapse." In Los Angeles County, patients can wait four days for a hospital bed and up to two years for gallbladder surgery.

"The hospitals are closing because of the totality of the uninsured," said Dr. Thomas Garthwaite, director of the Los Angeles County Health Department (search). "If you're legally a resident in California and you're poor, you have a right to basic services."

But some critics say the taxpayers can't be the HMO (search) to the world. Last year, Los Angeles County spent $340 million to treat the uninsured; that's roughly $1,000 for every taxpayer.

"We're citizens here. Why should somebody from another country that's here illegally get anything that we can't get? I mean that's dumb, that's not right," said Don Schenck, whose son, Bill, is mentally disabled.

Though the Schencks are uninsured, and considered poor by county standards, his father had to find a way to pay for his Bill's care while thousands of others, in the country illegally, get it for free.

"It makes you feel pretty bad when you're born in that country and you're handicapped and you've got a learning disability and you can't get medical," Schenck said.

Mike Antonovich, the Los Angeles County supervisor, said the system has been "basically bankrupted."

The Department of Health has a $1.2 billion deficit. Caring for illegals is siphoning money from other services and forcing clinics, trauma centers and emergency rooms to close, he said.

"We cannot afford to have a open-door policy to encourage illegals to continue to come here and receive all the medical care, because it's too expensive," he said.

Immigrants like Yolanda Hernandez, however, argue that if there were cheap insurance plans available to her community, people would buy them.

"[Americans] have enough money to pay for insurance," she said. "They make good money and are educated. Unfortunately, we are not."

The fourth installment of this series focuses on how border states are dealing with educating Mexican immigrants and the strain it's putting on California's education system. Look for it on FOX News and FOX News.com.

© Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2005 ComStock, Inc.

Copyright 2005 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

Quoted: " Today, legal immigrants must demonstrate that they are free of communicable diseases and drug addiction to qualify for lawful permanent residency green cards," writes Cosman, a medical lawyer, who formerly taught medical students at the City University of New York. "Illegal aliens simply cross our borders medically unexamined, hiding in their bodies any number of communicable diseases." Well coming from world net daily. A paper owned by reverend moon i guess that makes it true.

You can read about the same problem in the liberal rag "Time":

"Even more chilling than hospitals collapsing concerns an increasing number of unchecked aliens importing diseases into the USA.  In five years, 16,000 cases of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis breached the Mexican border.  In three years, 7,000 cases of leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) arrived with immigrants from India, Brazil and the Caribbean. Tens of thousands of cases of hepatitis A transplanted into America.  Another South American disease, affecting 14 million and killing 50,000 annually, Chagas Disease, a parasite that attacks the heart and other organs, invades U.S. borders in the bodies of the unchecked illegal aliens.


The crisis of these diseases won’t play itself out for years.  One TB carrying illegal may infect 10 to 50 other persons depending on his/her circulation in public.  If he works in fast food, he may come in contact with an unlimited number of people. If he has hepatitis A and serves on the food line cutting onions or tomatoes, all customers stand at risk.  If illegal alien children, now number over 1.1 million in public schools are infected, they can infect American children.  This year, the Center for Disease Control announced 14, 871 new cases of tuberculosis.  It's only the beginning."

Quoted: L.A. Emergency Rooms Full of Illegal Immigrants

I live it.  Average wait time in the ER on the weekends can be up to 16-20 hours.  Can you even imagine waiting that long to be seen?