An illegal immigrant from Nepal, crossing the border between
Mexico and Texas was found to have XDR-TB (Extremely Drug Resistant
Tuberculosis). Today, border crossings screen for
diseases. Illegal immigrants don't go through this screening process so they
can bring deadly diseases into the country. This man traveled through 13
countries to get to the United States and came in contact with many people
along the way. He carried a case of TB that is resistant to 8 of the 15
commonly used medications to cure Tuberculosis, including the two most commonly
used. The strain of Tuberculosis that he was infected with has only been found
in one other person in the United States. He is currently in "medical
isolation" in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention
facility
Drug Resistant Tuberculosis is a large issue in third world
countries where healthcare is poor.If a Tuberculosis treatment is not carried
out fully the disease can mutate and become more drug resistant and deadly. It is difficult for infected illegal immigrants that have been
deported to continue their treatment in their home country. This is the case especially if the country they are deported to
does not have good healthcare. Plus, Extremely Drug resistant diseases are
difficult to treat and often cannot be treated effectively in these
countries. If the disease is not entirely treated, it can mutate and become
even more drug resistant.
Does the United States have the responsibility to provide medical care to illegal immigrants? Why or Why not?
Does the United States have the responsibility to provide medical care to illegal immigrants? Why or Why not?
The United States should not hold the responsibility to provide cheap or free medical care such as Medicade or Medicare to illegal immigrants. Reasons as to why this should not be allowed are that they are not citizens and they should not take advantage of our underprivilaged health care system services (Medicare, Medicade) which is paid for by American citizens in their taxes, and illegal immigrants do not even pay taxes.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to Hannah, I do not think that the United States should have the responsibility of providing illegal immigrants with medical care. In this case, we would be treating this individual’s tuberculosis and they have not even done anything to help the U.S. They don’t work here or pay taxes, so why should it be our problem? It would be taking the hard earned tax payers money and putting it towards someone who is not even illegally and doesn’t even pay taxes. In my opinion, if a person is not here legally, then they should not expect to receive the same medical attention as those who are here legally. If an illegal person wants access to our medical treatments, they should have to go through the process of becoming legal.
ReplyDeleteThe United States does not hold the responsibility to provide illegal immigrants healthcare. First of all, illegal immigrants do not pay taxes that allows the ability for people to be provided with health care. Since illegal immigrants do not pay these taxes that make health care a valuable source for people, it should not be attainable for them. I believe that in this case where the illegal immigrant had tuberculosis was rare and people over exaggerated what happened. This doesn't mean health care should automatically be available to those who step foot into America. Illegal immigrants that have diseases should not be our issue, unless it starts to effect the way Americans live.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Ryan said that illegal if immigrants want to use the United States' relatively great healthcare, they should have to enter the country legally and that it is usually not the responsibility of the United States to provide illegal immigrants with healthcare. However, it is the the responsibility of the United States to treat an illegal immigrant who has a pathogenic disease that could be dangerous to legal Americans. If an illegal immigrant breaks a bone, harms themselves, or gets a disease that is not contagious, the United States should not pay to heal that illegal immigrant. On the other hand, if an illegal immigrant has a contagious disease and gets deported to Mexico, for example, they could spread the disease and cause an epidemic in Mexico which could spread to the United States eventually because no matter what the United States does, they will not stop illegal immigration that can elude the health screenings. For non contagious diseases, there is also a moral issue. If a child who is an illegal immigrant has cancer, a lot of people would say that the United States should try to cure them. However, the United States cannot really afford to do that, so it would be really sad, but they would have to let the kid die.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to everyone that has already posted a comment here, I too think that there is no reason that the United States should be held responsible for illegal immigrants that need health care. One reason being that they are not citizens! Just like Hannah said, the actual citizens pay taxes, taxes go to the government, then the government spends the money on what they think is the most immportant thing for those cictzens. It is a circle and if illegal immigrants join the no longer circle, the flow stops and then the money that started at the citizens is going partially to people tht payed nothing in the first place. Another reason for my feelings on this topic is that most american citizens even pay for their health care directly. taxes come out of our checks and go to social security, and then eventually to the health care, but for almost all illegal immigrants, they cannot get jobs that pay "over the table" so they dont pay taxes, or for health care! This is how i feel on this topic.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with everyone above because I think that if we provide healthcare to illegal immigrants it will only benefit our country in the long run. If we provide some sort of health care to illegal immigrants we can prevent situations like this one. I believe that some sort of healthcare is better than nothing cause it help our country stay aware of illnesses and keep our citizens healthy. As far a .our respinsibabilty goes I think.we should just provide the insurance and their responsibility to pay for their chargers and follow up with other appointments.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it is the U.S's responsibility to provide medicare for illegal immigrants. I agree with Ryan about money being taken from the tax payers. The people, citizens of the U.S., work hard to earn money and put money into social programs, like medicare, through taxes. Unless immigrants are paying taxes and putting money into the social programs then they have no right to take privileges that come from those programs. As tax payers we are paying for the right to these programs and we don't deserve any amount of those privileges taken.
ReplyDeleteRegarding this issue, I believe that the United States should not have to be responsible for healthcare of illegal immgrants. Like many others said, if they are not conritbuting to the country then they should not be privy to the resources of the country. Personally, in my family, there are a lot of people who work in healthcare. Therefore, I have heard a lot about this issue. Currently, this is a large issue in the United States, and from what I have heard, one that is split in opinion. I do not think that there will be a solution to this problem soon because this is such a promnet issue. Either people agree that illegal immigrants should be supplied with healthcare or not.Saying that, I also agree with Dan Kallin. I think that if an illegal immigrant is threatening the health or lives of American citiczens, then they should be treated. But, if they have a superficial injury that is not a threat to us, then they should not be treated because they are not contributing.
ReplyDeleteTHIS DISCUSSION IS NOW CLOSED. COMMENTS AFTER THIS POINT WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR CREDIT.
ReplyDelete