For Illegal Immigrant, Line Is Drawn at Transplant

Without treatment to replace his failing kidneys, doctors knew, the man in Bellevue hospital would die. He was a waiter in his early 30s, a husband and father of two, so well liked at the Manhattan restaurant where he had worked for a decade that everyone from the customers to the dishwasher was donating money to help his family.

He was also an illegal immigrant. So when his younger brother volunteered to donate a kidney to restore him to normal life, they encountered a health care paradox: the government would pay for a lifetime of dialysis, costing $75,000 a year, but not for the $100,000 transplant that would make it unnecessary.

For nearly two years, the brothers and their supporters have been hunting for a way to make the transplant happen. Their journey has taken them through a maze of conflicting laws, private insurance conundrums and ethical quandaries, back to the national impasse between health care and immigration policies.

Very odd to indicate I tell you what... why don’t YOU pay for his treatment (since you are so willing to donate other people’s time and money)?

And at the same time the -Catholic Church does not mind expecting the taxpayers to pay for services illegals receive here.The Catholic Church also claims The United States’ 33 Hispanic Roman Catholic Bishops released a strongly worded letter suggesting illegal immigrants deserve thanks from Americans and calling for “denunciation of the forces which oppress them.”

The bishops have come out in support of comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants before—as they did again Monday—but the letter uses stronger language and goes further in offering support to undocumented immigrants.

The letter, written to illegal immigrants, was released by San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller and Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, the highest ranking Mexican-Americans in the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops.

“In imitation of Jesus and the great prophets, we ought to denounce the forces which oppress them,” the bishops said of illegal immigrants. ” … Let us pray and struggle to make it possible for these brothers and sisters of ours to have the same opportunities from which we have benefited .”

Let me Reword this to say, same thing“In imitation of Jesus and the great prophets, we ought to denounce the forces which oppress the brother not getting medical care and we standby with our hospitals doors open awaiting to provide free medical care ,” Let us pray and struggle to make it possible for this brother of ours to have the same opportunities from which we have benefited .”

$200,000 is just for the transplant, it does include operating room time, supplies, medications,other staff, and it does not include, once stable moving into regular hospital room, where thousands more will be needed.Who is paying for his younger brother who volunteered to donate a kidney , hospital expenses ?Thats a few hundred thousand The Catholic church does get my help, they accept federal money from taxpayers. The Catholic church, I ask is there some reason why they have not came forward ? They keep putting themselves in the spotlight than get upset when you start asking about, where are you at here ? Odd that Mexico has funds to file lawsuits.The Mexican government again waded into the cauldron of U.S. immigration politics, this time over a law in Utah.

On Tuesday, Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department announced it had presented a motion supporting the U.S. federal government in attempts to declare the Utah law unconstitutional.

“The Mexican motion counts with the support of 15 Latin American countries,” the department said in a news release.

Utah’ Illegal Immigration Enforcement Act, known as HB 497, came into effect in May after it was approved by the conservative state legislature.

It requires local police to investigate people’s immigration status after they are arrested for any crime, including misdemeanors.

The U.S. federal government argues that immigration is a federal not a state issue.

Mexico previously supported the U.S. government against a tough immigration law in Arizona.

The Arizona requires police to investigate the immigration status of any people they suspect are illegal immigrants – which critics say encourages racial profiling.

In Mexico, priests, pundits and politicians railed against the Arizona law, saying it was “fascistic,” “authoritarian” and “racist.”

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/que-pasa/mexico-bats-against-utah-law
So the church should be over there thanking him and helping him if what they say has any merit ?

Let’s put this way, there are enough supporters out there who will ask everybody they can to help him.. The fact that this appeared in the New York Times, happened because supporters made it happen. The extent of the medical treatment indicates, he would be asking anybody for help. I use “Catholic” because they keep saying welcome the stranger. They keep showing up in the news.They keep protesting about human rights and families,etc,etc, if their words have any merit, they can also use this same state of mind to help the people who they advocate for. Mexico is mainly “Catholic”How many Jewish or Baptist hospitals are there in Mexico ?

America is a wonderful country, we provide the best health care to all who enter. But, you have to understand that the cost of that care is not free, we (the citizens) pay for that care, which amounts to higher costs. Costs that are passed on to all people who enter the hospital, which in turn results in higher insurance premiums. Where does it end?? Where is the line drawn? How do we protect our selves from those who willingly enter illegally to take advantage of our generosity?

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