Government
Illegal immigrant ID bill defeated
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 7, 2004
Legislation requiring emergency department physicians to report undocumented immigrants to the Homeland Security Dept. was overwhelmingly defeated when it recently came up for a House vote.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R, Calif.), also would have exempted hospitals from federal requirements to treat undocumented immigrants except in cases of imminently life-threatening conditions. Those who did receive emergency services or their employers would have been held responsible for the cost of that care under the measure.
Hospitals spend an estimated $1.5 billion a year treating undocumented immigrants. Immigrant advocacy groups called the bill discriminatory, and hospitals balked at the notion of being turned into enforcement agencies.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/06/07/gvbf0607.htm.