There's been a lot of debate about health care, and one of the contentious issues has been health care for illegal immigrants. The left likes to call them undocumented workers, but I prefer illegal immigrants for two reasons. First, not all of them are working. We are approaching a 10% unemployment rate. There are no statistics for those without unemployment benefits, but I'm guessing the number is higher, since the number is higher among other demographic groups working similar jobs. Second, they are here illegally. They have violated the immigration laws to come in. I'll give you a hint. That's like violating gun laws in Texas. The laws exist, but they are very lax, and it's not hard to be legal, compared to most places.

So what exactly is the issue with these petty criminals (I'm sorry, you'll never convince me that immigration violation by itself is a big deal)? The question, as usual with illegal immigration, is whether they should receive taxpayer help with their life here in America, where they have no legal status. Those on the far right will insist that they have no rights, and ought to be deported as soon as caught, without even a trial. Those on the far left would say that they came here out of need and desire, and should be afforded all human rights, such as education in their language, health care, and so forth. As is typical, I, and most of America, fall in between these extremes.

Let's look at health care. Under our current system, if someone without insurance needs to see a doctor, they go to the one place that they know they cannot be refused care: the emergency room. This group includes virtually all illegal immigrants. If someone doesn't pay their hospital bill, it will most likely be written off as a loss, and it is allowed to be deducted from the hospital's taxes. Thus, not only are the emergency rooms being clogged by unnecessary visits, but those visits are often being subsidized by the taxpayer.

The first liberal proposal for health care reform would have brought this out in the open, by paying for anyone who couldn't pay for their own health insurance. This was not able to pass, but the fact that it was proposed has not been forgotten, and some people think it's still on the table. The Baucus bill would require proof of legal residency before treatment could be given, but I assume that emergency rooms would continue to treat patients regardless of their citizenship status, so under the right's plan, the government would still end up covering at least part of the cost.

The Democrats, in the person of Rep. Michael M. Honda, have a new proposal, which would allow people to buy insurance, including paying for whatever public option shakes out, from their own pocket, without requiring proof of insurance. They claim that this would require illegal immigrants to pay their own way. I say that they won't have enough money, and that this is a back door to overtly buying them government funded health insurance, or at least subsidizing it.

So both sides, if they got what they wanted, would have the government paying part of the cost of health care for those who are here illegally. If we do nothing, we have the same situation. No matter what we do, we are going to pay for health care for illegal immigrants' health care. That's not really a bad thing. It's in our national interest to be sure that we take care of any infectious diseases they might catch, so they don't become a vector we can't control.

On the other hand, we already have publicly funded education. Enforcement of rules, and the rules themselves, on enrollment without documents varies state to state. In every state, though, there is not enough money for education. Every illegal immigrant child in school is a burden on the system, and I submit an extra burden compared to a child who is here legally, on average, because they are more likely to need extra services. What is more, the ROI on these children is virtually nonexistent. So we are spending taxes to give an education to these children, and receiving nothing or very little for it.

Now, our education system is far from world-class, until you get to the university level, and maybe until you get to the postgraduate level. It is in great need of reform, and part of this reform needs to include a decision about illegal children in the classroom, but I have a hunch that even in places like southern California, the percentage of young children in school who were born outside the US is small. Many of them, though, may have parents who are in danger of deportation for immigration violation.

And this is a problem. It is practically in the constitution, and specifically in the USC, that if you are born on US soil, you are a citizen. As mentioned above, an illegal immigrant who presented herself to deliver a child at any emergency room in the US would, in short order, become a near relative of a US citizen. When that child is born, he is issued a social security card, and becomes eligible for a lot of benefits such as Medicaid and AFDC. These are programs that will send benefits to children of parents without documents, as long as the child is a citizen. This gets the right steamed, because they know they can't, in good conscience, break up the family, but until the law is changed to disallow such “birth tourism” in such a way that it doesn't violate the 14^th amendment, they haven't got any other way to send the illegal immigrants home.

There is no simple answer. Citizenship should not be conferred for the price of a plane ticket. On the other hand, it is not true, as those on the right are so fond of saying, that an illegal immigrant pays no taxes. They pay the same sales tax that anyone else does, for one thing. For another, if they are working with false documents, they are paying the same payroll taxes that you are, except that I'm willing to bet that they don't file for a refund at the end of the year. It's true that many of them are working as day laborers, and are paid (or not) in cash at the end of the day, and never report this income, but People in this income bracket are not likely to owe any tax at the end of the year anyway. If you really want to ensure that there aren't illegals skimming money off the American taxpayer, improve enforcement and fines on employers.

Illegal immigration is a national issue, and is going to become more of one in the coming years. It is important for us to realize that allowing little violations of the law to go unpunished is not a good way to promote respect for the rule of law, either from the lawbreaker or from others in the community. This is why unfair laws should be changed, and not just ignored by police (I have a long list of laws that are selectively enforced, because the harm is not enough to justify prosecuting everyone who breaks the law). We need to reform our approach to immigration, but we need to be very careful. We stand to lose the very essence of America if we do it wrong. I suggest that a good reform package could include fining those that employ illegal immigrants, and also those who come in illegally themselves. Treat it like the minor harm it is, and then teach immigrant how to become a citizen. Put their name on the list of those who have applied. Don't let them buy their citizenship, but maybe let them buy a work permit with an extra fee. Extend the diplomatic exception against automatic citizenship for newborns that currently applies to diplomats to include those who entered illegally, maybe even if they still have a work permit. Then they won't have to be afraid to exercise their basic rights, like the rights to equal protection under the law (the law doesn't have to say they have the same rights, but it does have to say that they have protection from things like murder). If they are not willing to pay for a work permit, they are not welcome to stay in the US while they wait for their citizenship application to be processed. Just a thought.