Arizona's border hospitals, which provide medical aid to illegal immigrants, are reportedly understaffed and are requesting more funding from the federal government. What is the best way to lessen Arizona's financial burden?

Jessica Lee

Give American tax-payers a break: Open the border

The state of Arizona is being screwed by the federal government. And as a result, we ÷ Americans and illegal migrants alike ÷ are suffering.

Border hospitals in southern Arizona are losing millions of dollars a year doing not only what is humane, but what the feds governed them to do ÷ treat and stabilize anyone who seeks emergency medical care, regardless of income or immigration status as required by the 1996 Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act.

Humanitarians on both sides of the border applaud this law. But with most laws that benefit society, there is a major disagreement on who should foot the bill.

Here is the way the law works: For the hospital to get reimbursed for treating an illegal alien in an emergency, the person must be in custody of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service ÷ the boss of the Border Patrol. The problem is, the Border Patrol has a strict policy of not taking any injured illegal immigrants into custody. This way, the Border Patrol agent's conscience is clear and the person is treated (as required by law), but the INS is not responsible for reimbursing the costs.

Now, Arizona's hospitals are $31 million short, with University Medical Center alone down $8 million. Clearly, the feds are unwilling to follow up with financial support.

In time, all Arizonans and migrants will be hurt by this lack of federal dignity. Hospitals are internalizing many of the accrued costs, forcing them to cut programs and staff.

The piss-poor INS border security program that provides "tighter security" in urban centers ultimately forces migrants determined to find work in the United States to cross through treacherous mountainous and desert areas. Consequently, more migrants are finding themselves in need of immediate acute care.

Instead of investing in a migrant worker program that allows people to travel legally into the United States for seasonal jobs, the federal government continues to fund a failing border security program at high costs to American taxpayers. Under a worker program, immigrants would not have to enter the country at great risk to their own lives, and could possibly gain access to health care services.

Senator Jon Kyl just introduced an appropriation bill that would help Arizona with the financial burden it now faces. But more needs to be done. The U.S.-Mexico border needs to be opened up.

Jessica Lee is an environmental science senior. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.

Jason Winsky

Do me a favor. Check your wallet or purse right now. Do you happen to have $31 million in it? Me neither.

The reason I ask is because Arizona needs it. Why $31 million? That's what the state currently pays out each year for the healthcare costs of people who aren't U.S. citizens.

So if they're not Arizona citizens, why are we paying for their health care? Good question. The simple answer is that we have to. Arizona, along with all the other southern states, have hospitals that are right on the border.

These hospitals are seeing a high incidence of illegal aliens coming in for treatment. Obviously, no person in their right mind would refuse another human being vital medical care, but that's not the issue here. The issue is who is footing the bill, and the federal government isn't helping at all.

At least we aren't alone on this one. The border states together are chipping in over $200 million per year to pay the health care costs of illegal aliens.

The federal government loves the idea of the states doing this. That's because it isn't helping local governments foot the bill and is contributing to the problem by doing a terrible job protecting our borders. If Arizona had more agents and more resources on the border, this wouldn't even be an issue.

Let's get real. Arizona is in a major budget crisis and the last thing our small state economy needs right now is to take on the problems of another country without help.

We all know that our neighbors to the south need a helping hand from time to time.

And we give it to them every year in the form of foreign aid. Perhaps (as some have suggested) we should deduct our expenses for treating their citizens from the amount of aid we give them each year.

This would be a good solution but probably not a popular one. We also have to be careful about the message that we send. Increased federal funding for border hospitals might actually increase the amount of illegal aliens attempting to use them.

Jason Winsky is a political science junior. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.