Intimidad en el ámbito internacional

By Ed Lenderman Staff Writer

San Diego Union Tribune

Thursday, March 26, 2009

The story of local wildfires doesn‟t just involve the firefighting and the property destruction. Of the 18 people lying in the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) medical center‟s burn unit today, 11 are illegal immigrants with no apparent health coverage.

The raging Harris Fire started along the border, so it was perhaps inevitable that among the burn victims would be illegal immigrants. Fifteen illegal immigrants in all have been victims of the fire, and 4 were found dead. The 11 injured are in UCSD medical center‟s acclaimed burn unit. Four are in critical condition.

“Here at UCSD we‟re the only regional burn unit in San Diego,” explained Dr. Tom McAfee, physician-in-chief at UCSD. “We always look for ways to get reimbursed for the care we provide. And for patients that are undocumented, they often will not qualify for the usual programs, the usual safety net programs, that the county provides, or that the state provides through the MediCal program. So in many cases these patients won‟t have any sponsorship, and we won‟t recover any of the costs of the care we‟re providing.” Because of the severity of the injuries of the 11 illegals, the medical center is looking at a potential loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars. “Our philosophy here and the law is that a patient who comes through our doors and has an acute medical problem, we treat those patients without regard to the color of their skin, their religion, or their ability to pay,” Dr. McAfee stated. “And we will continue to care for patients in our hospital until they are ready to be discharged or transferred to another facility.”

But therein lies another cost issue. The nature of severe burns virtually requires long term care, months and perhaps years of treatment. “What often happens for us is that when a patient has reached a point where they really don‟t require acute hospitalization, but they could be transferred to either a rehabilitation facility or a skilled nursing facility, our experience is that those facilities won‟t accept those patients because, like us, they require reimbursement to keep their doors open,” Dr. McAfee said. You would think the state and local governments would chip in here, but Dr. McAfee says that certainly hasn‟t been the case in the past. That doesn‟t mean UCSD isn‟t going to try this time around, and that includes seeking reimbursement from the government of Mexico.

“So we will be pursuing getting reimbursement through the Mexican government,” Dr. McAfee stated. “We‟ll be going to the federal authorities. I‟ll be in Washington, D.C., on Monday meeting with our congressman and you can be sure I‟ll be talking about this issue, as well.”

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Appendix I

Neutral Story #3

Immigration officers carried out a raid at an export business in southeast Houston this morning. They say they were working on a tip that illegal immigrants were employed at Action Rags USA.

It was a very, very strange morning at the clothing plant. It wasn‟t what people anticipated. But after a huge immigration raid, business was brought to a halt. Federal immigration agents began raiding a clothing rag exporting plant about 7 o‟clock this morning.

Immigration officials said the raid came after a year-long investigation into reports that Action Rags USA employed illegal immigrants. “What you need to understand is that work site enforcement, particularly investigations involving work site enforcement are phased in approach,” explained Agent Greg Palmore, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesman. “It takes various steps to get to the prosecution stage.” By early morning vans transported the immigrants away from the plant. As the raid progressed, family members of the suspected illegals arrived hoping to find out where their relatives would be taken. Family members we talked with thought the raid was unjustified. “They ain‟t really doing nothing bad, you know. They‟re working, you know,” said Luis Patio, a nephew of a suspected illegal immigrant. “They ain‟t hurting no one, you know. They‟re here to make money.” At least one of the detained workers was released to her family after proving she was a legal resident.

Investigation of Action Rags USA is not over. “What will happen here is we‟ll collect as much information as we can, and follow the information where it takes us,” Agent Palmore stated. Officials have not yet said exactly how many immigrants they have taken into custody in the raid. We presume from observing the scene that it may be in the dozens, but those numbers cannot be confirmed. We also don‟t know what countries they come from. We expect to learn that at a 2 o‟clock news conference tomorrow afternoon.

Appendix J