Illegal bits & pieces

Greg Crosby

A news story that was given almost zero play in the mainstream press was the protest march against illegal immigration held in Hollywood last Saturday night by members of the Minuteman Project and other groups in favor of tighter border control. Although it was reported briefly on the LA Times web site, no mention of the march appeared in Sunday's paper (At least not in the Valley edition that I read). If you haven't heard what happened, allow me to give you a brief rundown.

The pro-American marchers — the people against illegal immigration, were low key and civilized. They waved American flags, carried banners in favor of increased border protection, and made their way peacefully along Hollywood Boulevard. Then the pro-illegal immigration crowds began gathering along the sidewalks. Some were illegal aliens, some were clearly gang members. They started shouting inflammatory epithets and slogans at the marchers both in Spanish and English. They carried Mexican flags, upside-down American flags, and threw bottles, rocks, and anything else they could hurl.

The police had to quickly shelter the peaceful marchers from the aggressive illegal alien crowds. Many of the marchers were older citizens and were visibly upset over the attack by non-American illegals. "I can't believe this thing is happening in my country," cried one woman. "This is America!" One police officer was injured and several arrests were made before it was all over. If you don't think this is an invasion, my friends, you're living on another planet. Los Angeles is ground zero for the illegal immigration of millions. And you 'aint seen nothin' yet.

While this was going on, former president Clinton was speaking downtown at the start of a four-day meeting of La Raza, which is the largest Latin American civil rights group in the country. (The name "La Raza" incidentally, literally means "the race." Guess which "race" it stands for. Hint: it 'aint the Tour de France.)

Clinton praised President Bush for his stand on immigration reform. Did you get that? Clinton PRAISED Bush! It's probably the first time in his life that he ever did that. Someone very smart once said that when a politician from one party agrees with a politician form another party, beware! Hold on to your wallet and to your Constitution. But that is exactly the way it has been going with illegal immigration — with very few exceptions, the politicians from both parties support open borders and amnesty for illegals. Other speakers at the La Raza event will include Gov. Schwarzenegger and Karl Rove.

Meanwhile The Washington Times has reported another interesting illegal immigrant story this past week. It seems the Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas has come up with a plan for recouping some of the millions of dollars spent on illegal alien health costs that have gone unpaid — send the bills to Mexico and any other countries of origin of these indigents. Not surprisingly, the plan has brought a negative response from the Mexican government, with a diplomat terming it "an act of discrimination."

County Judge Margaret Keliher said she was not hopeful that other countries would pay up, but, she said, the county commission thought the matter should be made public and bills sent.

"If you're not Dallas County residents, we think where you are from should pay for your indigent health care," Judge Keliher said.

Last year, hospital officials said, Dallas County spent $76.5 million to treat people from outside Dallas. Of that, almost $27 million was not reimbursed. Currently, Parkland is reimbursed by the federal government for treatment of illegal aliens, but Parkland officials said that agreement covers only 48 hours of emergency care and falls far short of what expenses the hospital often incurs.

The hospital has spent more than a week figuring out how many foreign nationals have been treated and how much to bill each of the nations. An estimated 90 percent of those affected are Mexican nationals. (Mexican nationals, by the way, is the term of choice used by the media to describe Mexican citizens who are in this country illegally).

Personally, I don't think the Mexican government will ever pay one peso to reimburse the hospital for its costs in treating their citizens, but I do believe it is worth a try anyway. At least it gets the word out and reminds all of us just how expensive it is to supply medical care to these illegals. Keep in mind, too, that the almost $80 million figure is just for the Parkland Hospital in Dallas — one hospital in one city. Try multiplying that with all our hospitals in all our cities across the country and you can really get sick.