Update on proposal to limit funding to La Clinica De La Raza in Solano County

I recently wrote a post about a proposal pending in front of the Solano County Board of Supervisors that recommends that the Board limit funding to La Clinica de la Raza in Vallejo to only Solano County residents who have proof of citizenship or legal residency. I indicated in my post that the Board was going to vote on the proposal on September 22, 2009. This date has now been changed. The Board is now going to vote on the proposal at their meeting scheduled for October 6, 2009.

I have received a copy of the actual report issued by the "watch dog" group that recommended the cut in funding. It turns out that the recommendation was made by the Solano County Grand Jury. Apparently the Grand Jury received a complaint from a "citizen" (although the report does not indicate how they verified the citizenship of this individual) about Solano County providing funding to the clinic because the clinic provides services to illegal aliens. The Grand Jury decided to investigate the complaint. Based on their investigation, the Grand Jury recommended that the County contributions (of $100,000 each year for three years) be limited to "serving only Solano County residents who have proof of citizenship or legal residency."

In my opinion there is a lot that is wrong with the recommendation morally and socially, but I wish to focus on the immigration aspect of it for this post. Basically it is my opinion that a verification requirement of immigration status will create an unworkable and bureaucratic mess for the following reasons.

Health care workers are not immigration inspectors. They should not have to be immigration inspectors. They should be focusing their attention on health issues. They are not familiar with the type of documents that people have which show status. They will not know if someone presents a green card that is expired whether or not the person is a "legal resident." (The answer may be different based on how the person obtained their green card. I.e., whether the person is a conditional resident or whether the person is a permanent resident who has not renewed his or her green card.) They do not even know what a green card looks like.

Proof of citizenship or legal residency is vague. I do not know what the grand jury means by "legal residency." Do they mean permanent residents or does it include people with temporary status such as H-1B workers, students, and people with Temporary Protected Status? How does a health care worker verify that someone has "legal residency?" The Grand Jury is asking the Board to approve a recommendation that has not been thought through carefully.

A requirement to verify immigration status will discriminate against U.S. citizens. Most people going to a clinic are going because they are sick. The last thing they think about is trying to find their birth certificate before they go. Most citizens do not carry their birth certificate or U.S. passport with them. They may show up at the clinic only to get turned away because they do not have proof. Or, if they cannot find the document at home, they may decide not to go to the clinic at all. Later, when they are in extreme pain they will show up at the emergency room. Solano county taxpayers are paying more (in taxes and health care costs) for people who show up at the emergency room when those people could have been treated at the clinic.

Is $100,000 a lot of money? Yes it is but it is nothing compared to nightmare the clinic is going to face in trying to distinguish and keep track of who is who and making sure that the money does not go to help the "wrong person" when they are not in any kind of position to do so. Unfortunately the flu, pneumonia and other easily spread diseases cross borders and infect citizens and non-citizens alike. It is ridiculous to think that Solano county documented residents will be saving any money by not spending money to provide basic health care services when each one of us is equally at risk.