Reporting from Tucson - Cristina, an illegal immigrant living in South Tucson, recently went to a government office to sign up her children for a state-run Medicaid program.
The boy and girl, ages 7 and 3, respectively, are U.S. citizens and entitled to the benefits. But Cristina, who spoke on condition her last name not be used, was fearful. She'd heard of a new state law requiring public workers to alert Immigration and Customs Enforcement when illegal immigrants apply for benefits they are not legally entitled to.
So when workers asked Cristina, 32, for identification, she fled. She now says she has no way to treat her daughter's liver problems or her son's asthma and impacted tooth.
Cristina, a single mother and part-time house cleaner, is even reluctant to take her children to a hospital emergency room. "I feel so alone," she said.
The new law has terrified the immigrant community here, leading to agonized discussions at schools, churches and community meetings about whether it is safe to get government help in Arizona. The author of the law, state Sen. Russell Pearce, is happy about that.
Full article found here
[Posted by Marwin Yeung]
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment