Research Question:

Should Illegal Immigrants be given the same rights as citizens?

Canedy, Dana.  “Hospitals Feeling Strain From Illegal Immigrants.”  The New York Times 25 Aug. 2002. Edina High School, Edina. 7 Dec. 2008 .

 Dana Canedy is a staff writer for the New York Times. In her article, “Hospitals Feeling Strain From Immigrants,” she talks about how Hospitals are struggling and losing money because they are caring for illegal immigrants who can’t afford the medical care they are requiring. In the article she has evidence from lawyers and people working at the hospital that shows what is happening. The hospital has people, like illegal immigrant Mr. Jimenez, showing up in need of emergency medical attention. In Mr. Jimenez’s case he needed care for his severe brain damage that was the result of a head on car collision. All of the treatments he needed cost the hospital nearly 1 million dollars that they will probably not get back since he is unable to pay. He has made the hospital his home at no cost to him, and Canedy talked to lawyer Michael banks who said, “The hospital is saying that he’s occupying a bed and we need to get him out.” Immigrants aren’t eligible for Medicaid, which also causes a lot of issues in the problem of what hospitals will accept them. This is an especially great problem in the Border States like Texas, and Arizona where the number of illegal immigrants is constantly rising. People like Mr. Austin feel that there needs to be a national program that would insure these individuals, or repay the hospitals when they are losing great deals of money. At this time the hospitals aren’t turning the ill patients away, but are instead being more aggressive in trying to find ways to release them. Mostly this article is showing how hospitals are being greatly affected because our country won’t allow the immigrants the rights to Medicaid and other insurance.