Thread: Readers speak up on immigration issue

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/ne ... 132853.php

Sunday, May 7, 2006

Readers speak up on immigration issue
A panel joins the discussion to ask questions and share opinions at the Register.

By AMY TAXIN
The Orange County Register

SANTA ANA – A group of seven Orange County Register readers met last week to share views and raise questions about how illegal immigration affects their communities.

In response to an invitation issued by the Register in March and February, the readers - five of whom live in Orange County and two who live elsewhere in Southern California - agreed to discuss the issue with newspaper editors and reporters Thursday night in Santa Ana.

The readers – some of whom have relatives who were illegal immigrants – said they were concerned about the effect of illegal immigration on local hospitals and schools. They raised questions about which agencies should enforce immigration laws, what government-sponsored benefits illegal immigrants may access under U.S. law, and the history of Southern California's relationship with Mexico.

Q. What is illegal about illegal immigration?

A. Immigration violations are prosecuted administratively rather than criminally. Anyone who is in the United States in violation of immigration law is subject to removal, said Lori Haley, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Entering the U.S. illegally is a misdemeanor and punishable by six months in jail. About half of the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants came here legally but overstayed their visas.

Q. How do emergency rooms handle patients who are illegal immigrants?

A. Hospitals are bound to handle patients' emergency care needs first and foremost, whether or not they can pay. "Our first priority, of course, is the patient and taking care of their emergency needs regardless of their ability to pay or their legal status," said Pam Findley, UCI Medical Center's director of admissions and registration.

When a patient arrives in the emergency room, UCI assesses whether he or she has an emergency condition. Those who do are treated immediately; those who don't need emergency treatment are offered medical care or referred to a community clinic, Findley said.

Patients who receive emergency care are billed after treatment. Under guidelines of a federal program that reimburses hospitals for treating illegal immigrants, UCI does not ask patients for their legal status, but it tries to match them with a number of payment programs – some of which require U.S. citizenship, Findley said.

Q. What kinds of college scholarships are offered to illegal immigrants?

A. Illegal immigrants are not eligible for federal or state financial aid for college, but they may seek private funding from private universities or independent organizations, said Abdi Soltai, executive director of the Campaign for College Opportunity, a nonprofit dedicated to improving Californians' college access.

Students who graduate from high school in California and attended at least three years of high school in the state are eligible for in-state tuition at community colleges and California State University and University of California campuses, Soltai said. Although the rule does not expressly apply to illegal immigrant students, anyone who meets such qualifications is eligible to pay in-state tuition under this program, he said.

Q. What is the history of Southern California's relationship with Mexico?

A. According to the California Historical Society, the Mexican American War formally ended Feb. 2, 1848, with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In the treaty, the United States agreed to pay Mexico $15 million and to assume unpaid claims against Mexico. In turn, Mexico agreed to transfer to the U.S. more than 525,000 square miles of land. The future states of California, Nevada and Utah, most of Arizona and New Mexico, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming would come from this area.

The Mexican American War was a great tragedy for Mexico. Under the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico transferred half of its land to the United States. For the American people, the war was a victory. Many Americans believed that their nation at last had achieved its Manifest Destiny

Oh Yeah!! And the readers who were allowed to express THEIR views were the hispanics.

Business as usual.

MJ

Got that right! We had several news teams at the Irvine May 6th rally...nothing in the press!