The cardinal archbishop of LA has an excellent point to make about the negative aspects of denying healthcare for illegal immigrants (esp. in the cases where the illegal immigrant is ready to pony up the costs but our Senate seems hellbent on not allowing them the privilege) in today's
Times op-ed...
Most studies estimate that more than 10 million undocumented immigrants live in our country. Many have been here for decades. The majority of these immigrants live in “mixed families” — some members of the family were born here, while other relatives are here without documents. It is unrealistic to think that these millions of people with roots deep in their communities are somehow going to pack up and move back to their country of origin — whether that is Korea, the Philippines, Russia, England, France or Mexico.
Most have their children in local schools, the vast majority of them have jobs here, and all are contributing to the betterment of our nation. It makes no sense to deny this large population necessary health care services. It certainly does not help Americans as a whole to remain healthy when millions of people, including schoolchildren, cannot get basic preventive care like immunizations and medications.
... To deny our immigrant brothers and sisters basic health care coverage is immoral. To allow people’s basic health needs to be trumped by divisive politics violates American standards of decency and compassion. We should pass health care reform that provides access to all, in the interests of the common good. We must also enact comprehensive immigration reform that better balances our country’s need for a stable work force with the orderly flow of immigrants to help bring greater prosperity to all Americans.
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If the cardinal archbishop of LA wants involves himself in politics in violation of US federal law, then maybe the Catholic Church should loose its tax exempt status and pay the $100s million in taxes that they should be paying today. That money would go along way to pay for healthcare for poor American citizens. No, the archbishop wants others to pay for his view of what is good for the US; you know, more poor illegal aliens who are largely Catholic and contribute both $ and future political power to the church. I welcome the Catholic hierarchy's participation in the political process if and only if they pay taxes like the rest of us must. Either pay up or shut up!
For my part I know that the only ones who benefit from illegal aliens are the illegal aliens themselves, businesses who violate the law themselves by hiring illegal aliens, the Catholic Church, and socio-ethnic groups. Notice that the American people are not in this group. No, the American people will pick up the costs and suffer all the negative consequences of our governments' intentional failure to enforce our laws. Those costs include $100s billions today and the costs will increase exponentially in future years. The costs US citizens pay also include being 100,000s of victims of crimes committed by illegal aliens including murder, rape, vehicular homicide, sexual abuse of children, robbery, assault and many others. When the archbishop waxes philosophical about the plight of the poor illegal aliens what he is telling you is that he doesn't give a damn what happens you or your family so long as he can fill the pews, schools and donation plates. When politicians talk about our history as a nation of immigrants what they are telling you is that they don't care that $100s billions are diverted from your kids education to the education of kids who should not even be in the country. When politicians and special interest group spokesmen tell you that illegal aliens only want the American dream, what they aren't telling you is that for them to have the American dream, you or you kids may have to give up their American dreams. When politicians, the archbishop, and others tell you that if you object to amnesty and benefits to illegal aliens you are a racist, bigot, xenophobe, nativist or hater of brown people, what they are really telling you is to shut-up, go away and accept whatever they think is appropriate for you.
The archbishop of LA mentions that a majority of the illegal aliens are in mixed families (some members are legal), as if that somehow obviates their responsibility to follow US immigration law, and he comments further that illegals will arrogantly continue to defy our laws. These are the kinds of people we want in our country? I don't think so!
It's way past time to rid ourselves of people who for all practical purposes are the equivalent of human leaches on US citizens. Whatever it costs to accomplish their removal will be a very tiny fraction of what they will cost of if we do not.
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