Status of illegal immigrants in Dare County unknown

BY VICTORIA BRAGUNIER | SENTINEL STAFF


The topic of illegal immigration was raised at a recent League of Women Voters Candidate Forum. There has been concern that a large illegal immigrant population has moved into Dare County and is draining county resources.

Off the record, many employers freely admit that they now are depending on illegal immigrants to supply labor for a low wage that allows the businesses to be more competitive. And, also off the record, those contacted said that they are aware that they are breaking federal law by doing so.

But how many illegal aliens are in Dare County and are they draining charitable resources? A definitive answer is elusive because, just as there are federal laws prohibiting employing them, there also are federal laws prohibiting denying services or asking about citizenship status in certain situations.

"There is no accurate count of how many illegal aliens are in Dare County -- no one is keeping track of the numbers," said Maria Heifferon, cultural specialist with the Dare County government. Heifferon provides translation services for all county departments. Additionally, she works closely with outreach objectives involving the Hispanic community in Dare County.

"We don't ask the question if someone is here legally or not, so we don't know what their status may be," said Heifferon.

"We are not seeing a lot of illegal aliens and that is due to the new federal regulations imposed by the Deficit Reduction Act," said Jay Burrus, director of the Dare County Social Services. The regulations are included in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, signed into law by President George W. Bush on Feb. 8, 2006.

"The problem with the new regulation is that it has made things more difficult for the average American requesting or renewing their benefits,” said Burrus.


Section 6036 of the Act amends the previous Social Security Act concerning anyone applying for or renewing their benefits for medical assistance. The new regulations require that any individual declaring to be a citizen or national of the United States, present satisfactory documentary evidence of citizenship or nationality. Satisfactory documents listed in the Act include a US passport, Certificate of Naturalization, certificate of birth in the US or a valid state-issued driver's license if the state issuing the license required proof of US citizenship before the issuance.

"The only services that are available for undocumented workers are Emergency Medicaid and that is offered in life threatening situations," said Bonnie Drewry, income maintenance supervisor for the Dare County Department of Social Services. Documents obtained from the US Department of Health and Human Services state that in the event that an undocumented worker applies for Emergency Medicaid, they do not have to give any social security number or immigration information.

Federal regulation 42 U.S.C.¤ 1396(b) defines what conditions may be treated under Emergency Medicaid. The regulation stipulates that the term emergency medical condition means a medical condition (including emergency labor and delivery), manifesting itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain), such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in placing the patient's health in serious jeopardy, serious impairment to bodily functions or serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part.

Statistics regarding illegal aliens receiving treatment at The Outer Banks Hospital were unavailable. "Our mission is to provide excellent medical care to all patients. We provide charitable care for people that cannot afford to pay, but we do not ask if they are here legally," said Jarie Ebert, director of marketing and development at the Outer Banks Hospital.

The same inquiry was made to University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina, a partner and parent company of the Outer Banks Hospital. "We do not track that kind of information," echoed Barbara Dunn, public relations coordinator for University Health Systems.

The Dare County Department of Public Health also was contacted.

"Title VI of the Federal law prohibits the Health Department from asking patients questions regarding their immigration status or citizenship. To ask those questions would be discrimination, which is prohibited by Title VI," said Anne Thomas, Health Director of the Dare County Department of Public Health.

The federal law Thomas refers to is Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This law falls under Title 42 of the Public Health and Welfare act and specifically states "No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

It appears that questions regarding the issue of an at least perceived large illegal immigrant population living in Dare County and draining county resources will remain unanswered.

victoria@obsentinel.com | 480-2234
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