Thread: Family wishes and immigration poster-child collide

This hispanic reporter from Chicago "gets it".

When family wishes and an immigration poster-child photo-op collide
"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

If you missed it, about two weeks ago the New York Times featured on its front-page a story about how U.S. hospitals deal with illegal immigrant patients beset by long-term illnesses.

Luis Alberto Jimenez, a Guatemalan native with a traumatic brain injury who had been treated for several years in a Florida hospital at a cost of over 1.5 million dollars was profiled.

At issue was the state court order (that later was declared invalid) which enabled Martin Memorial Hospital to lease an air ambulance for $30,000 to "forcibly" return Mr. Jimenez to Guatemala.

Chicago now has its very own Jimenez.

More to the point: at issue is a thirty-year-old Mexican man named Francisco Pantaleon who, no less tragically, suffered a "severe cerebral hemmorage," according to Sherry McGuiness, the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center’s spokesperson. He was to be transferred to a hospital in Acapulco (at the UIC’s expense) until some disgruntled family members and activists stepped in.

The story, reported in today’s Chicago Tribune and Hoy newspapers goes thusly: father of two with no health insurance who has been living in U.S. illegally for eleven years has a severe brain hemorrhage in mid-July, goes to Alexian Brothers Hospital falls into a coma, and must be transferred to the UIC Medical Center for long-term care.

UIC, realizing there’s little hope for recovery, arranges – with Mr. Pantaleon’s family’s permission – to pay for him to be returned to Mexico where he can live out the rest of his days.

Mr. Pantaleon’s sister freaks out and unleashes the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) on the hospital. They, gleefully waving the New York Times piece, get Chicago’s Mexican Consulate to shame UIC into halting the transfer on the grounds that UIC failed to inform the Consulate of their plans to move the patient back to his country of origin.

Drumroll please: despite the fact that Mr. Pantaleon’s wife has been toiling for over a month to get him back home to Mexico, according to her comments to Hoy newspaper.

In the printed version of the Trib’s story, Dr. William Chamberlin, UIC’s Chief Medical Officer, said: "We have worked with the individual who has had primary decision-making responsibility for the patient" and had that person’s full consent.

I don’t dispute the following: 1) this is a sad story. And 2) there’s no question that legal or illegal, no immigrant should be denied due process when it comes to being returned to their home country.

But: we can’t even afford to adequately care for U.S. Citizens! And: his wife wants him home!

Forget the "hospital as ICE agent" straw man argument, the real crime here is being perpetrated by the leftist, illegal-immigrants-should-do-as-they-please, we’re-in-your-face-so-there! activists who would go so far as to deny this man his dignity by allowing a photographer to take his picture in a most undignified state while denying his wife the right to care for her husband at home.

Howard Peters, a senior VP at the Illinois Hospital Association was quoted in the Trib saying that "the family ought to be grateful" that UIC found a facility in Mexico willing to take Mr. Pantaleon and volunteered to foot the bill for his transfer.

As far as I can see, in his comatose state Mr. Panaleon is a pawn, being victimized by the very people who claim to be fighting for the rights of illegal immigrants such as himself.

His family truly ought to be grateful he’s received such top-notch care so far. And I believe that once Mr. Pantaleon returns to his tierra, his wife will finally see him, feel his warm skin, talk to him and express her gratitude quietly - and far out of the glare of the TV camera’s lights.



Esther J. Cepeda writes the "600 Words" & "Pregunta del Dia" columns, and is also the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Her views and reporting do not necessarily reflect those of ISAC. "600 words" is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com

E-Mail Esther Cepeda at: eejaycee@600words.com

ICPTRACK.COM

MOD EDIT - Page scrolling. IF you would like to check out the way to shorten urls when posting, check out this Sticky thread. I used loservillers method on this one.

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-104354.html

Why would his sister have more rights than his wife?!?! His sister should have NO say in the matter, therefore neither should LULAC and Maldef!

I had no idea his wife wanted him home, the msm doesn't report that. Gee, I wonder why?

Very well written.

I hope the wife gets her wish and gets to bring her husband home.

Lou Dobb's report said that the family here didn't want him sent home to Mexico because they would be unable to visit him. HMMMMMMMM. Now WHY IS THAT??? Could it be ----- nooooooooooo, it couldn't be that they're illegal too, now could it???

So much for being in the shadows. Dobb's had video of the family picketing outside the hospital. Where is ICE when you need them???

Just thought of something. Maybe this is really a family matter. Maybe his sister has never liked his wife, so she doesn't want him to go back to her. Hmmm. It's possible.

"Hmmmm, I know! I'll turn this into a political issue of immigration and call LULAC," the sister seems to say.

What gain is involved that the family doesn't want to lose if he returns home?

Are they, perhaps, caring for the two anchors, who are receiving benefits? Are they afraid that if the anchors return to Mexico with the parents they will then lose their future sponsors?

Are they afraid that amnesty will come somewhere down the line and he won't be here to qualify for retro benefits of some sort?

Believe me, there is some reason the family NEEDS to keep him here and it's got nothing to do with being able to visit him either.