Quote Of The Day: The Price We Pay For Illegal Immigration

09 Mar, 2006 by John Hawkins

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“If the 24 counties along the nation’s Southwest border were a 51st state, it would rank first in federal crimes, second in tuberculosis and near the bottom in education, per capita income and access to health care.

…The study found the region ranks last in access to health care compared with the rest of the states and 50th in number of residents with insurance. Yet the prevalence of people with tuberculosis is twice that of United States as a whole. Residents also have high rates of AIDS, hepatitis and adult diabetes.

Local hospitals are straining to cover the cost of treating uninsured patients, said San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox, the border group’s president.

“You have seen a lot of our hospitals reach the breaking point,” Cox said. “Some of them are on the verge of bankruptcy, and that’s a very, very, very scary scenario.” — KRISTV