Immigrants, amnesty, health care

Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)
October 9, 2009 Friday

Let's optimistically pretend that whatever medical reforms get through Congress will bar illegal aliens from getting taxpayer-funded care and provide for real enforcement of that rule.

That's a big assumption. After all, Democrats so far have blocked amendments that would enforce any ban on subsidized care for illegal aliens.

But suppose they relented and truly protected taxpayers from the enormous health care tab for people who have no right to be in this country.

That's no guarantee those people won't get subsidized care anyway. Why? Because Democrats are pushing once again for a "path to citizenship" for the perhaps 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens in this country. If that happens, the illegal aliens would magically become "legal." And then it would be only a matter of time before they were entitled to medical treatment under ObamaCare.

Speaking before a Hispanic gathering recently, President Barack Obama repeated his promise to overhaul immigration. And revving up the crowd before Mr. Obama spoke, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said, "I know he's going to help us with comprehensive immigration reform."

Unfortunately, "comprehensive immigration reform" has become coded language for amnesty for illegal aliens, with token support for border enforcement mixed in to make that awful idea sound reasonable. If any doubt remains, when Mr. Obama was a senator, he voted for a bill that would have made many illegal aliens citizens.

The American people rose in indignation when Congress tried to pass such a measure, and it ultimately failed. But if it gets through on the next try, look for millions of suddenly "legal" immigrants to make use of taxpayer-funded ObamaCare.

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