| Submit your comments on this article |
| Economy |
| Obama: legalize illegals to get them health care |
| 2009-09-18 |
| President Obama said this week that his health care plan won't cover illegal immigrants, but argued that's all the more reason to legalize them and ensure they eventually do get coverage. He also staked out a position that anyone in the country legally should be covered - a major break with the 1996 welfare reform bill, which limited most federal public assistance programs only to citizens and longtime immigrants. "Even though I do not believe we can extend coverage to those who are here illegally, I also don't simply believe we can simply ignore the fact that our immigration system is broken," Mr. Obama said Wednesday evening in a speech to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. "That's why I strongly support making sure folks who are here legally have access to affordable, quality health insurance under this plan, just like everybody else. Mr. Obama added, "If anything, this debate underscores the necessity of passing comprehensive immigration reform and resolving the issue of 12 million undocumented people living and working in this country once and for all." Republicans said that amounts to an amnesty, calling it a backdoor effort to make sure current illegal immigrants get health care. "It is ironic that the president told the American people that illegal immigrants should not be covered by the health care bill, but now just days later he's talking about letting them in the back door," said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee. "If the American people do not want to provide government health care for illegal immigrants, why would they support giving them citizenship, the highest honor America can bestow?" Mr. Smith said. But immigrant rights groups see the speech as a signal that Mr. Obama is committed to providing health care coverage for anyone in the United States legally, regardless of their citizenship status. |
| Posted by: |
| #8 Health care workers aren't allowed to ask immigration status of patients in many states and also ERs aren't allowed to turn anyone away based on their ability to pay. So they're already getting free health care and it's only the Clueless One who doesn't realize it. |
| Posted by: Woozle Uneter9007 2009-09-18 15:39 |
| #7 I'm sure they'll get their whole damn family in as citizens for less than me & the Tsar shelled out just for his green card, too. |
| Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie 2009-09-18 14:17 |
| #6 Maybe we should put that guy at Acorn/San Diego in charge of immigration. He seems to know a lot about it (probably a lot more then 90% of congress - and less corrupt). |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-09-18 14:01 |
| #5 I also don't simply believe we can simply ignore the fact that our immigration system is broken... Broken, is it? BROKEN??? Why is that? Because of crooked politicians like Obama? Here's the pattern, folks: They create a problem. They create a full on frickin' crisis. Then they use it as an excuse to implement their agenda. Joe Wilson was right. I don't care anymore if he spoke out of order. He was right, dammit, and he's the only one in Congress that I've heard with the guts to actually say it out loud. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2009-09-18 13:01 |
| #4 This is the real fight, amnesty. It is the means to created a grateful class of voters who will lock in progessive control of the US for the foreseeable future. |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2009-09-18 11:59 |
| #3 Newsflash here: many of them don't want to be legalized because then they would have to pay the taxes. Shhh. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2009-09-18 11:24 |
| #2 I didn't see it coming. I smelled it. |
| Posted by: gorb 2009-09-18 10:20 |
| #1 Anyone didn't see this coming? |
| Posted by: NCMike 2009-09-18 09:57 |