Critic: Immigrant Law Threatens Safety


Measure Bans Some Mental Health Care To Illegal Immigrants

POSTED: 7:48 pm CDT March 24, 2010

Comments (7)OMAHA, Neb. -- A new Nebraska law takes mental health care away from illegal immigrants and critics said the measure puts the public's safety at risk.

Each year, Douglas County commits about 500 mentally ill people who are found to be a danger to themselves or others, and some of those people are illegal immigrants.

"There's a person who may be deemed mentally ill who needs help, who's here illegally and I'm going to leave him out on the street? How am I protecting the people that I'm elected to protect?" said Douglas County commissioner Mary Ann Borgeson.

She said that poses a problem with the new law, LB 403.

The Douglas County attorney said the law allows counties to continue providing emergency inpatient care, but no more outpatient treatment.

Borgeson said that poses a threat to public safety.

"I would not want someone who still needs services with a mental illness to be put out on the street and then put our taxpayers, our citizens, in jeopardy," she said.

She said without treatment, dangerous mentally ill patients will likely hurt someone or wind up in the hands of law enforcement.

She said the Douglas County Commission will ask the legislature to go back and change the law in hopes of keeping mentally ill illegal immigrants off the streets.

State Sen. Russ Karpisek of Wilber sponsored the legislation. He was unavailable for comment on Wednesday.

http://www.ketv.com/news/22947859/detail.html