FAMILY VALUES. A current plot line on ABC’s hit show “Ugly Betty” (the most progressive show on network television) involves the travails of Ignacio Suarez, a Queens retiree with heart problems and no health insurance who is at risk of deportation even though his two daughters and grandson are all American citizens. Pegged to the recent up tick in workplace raids, today The Washington Post reports on some of the real-life families facing this dilemma. A few dozen brave kids are even lobbying on Capitol Hill for their parents’ rights to remain in the country in which they’ve worked, paid taxes, bought real estate, and raised children.
But it’s curious that reporter N.C. Aizenman writes, “Until recently, their parents’ illegal status had limited impact on these children’s lives.” Although a number of private companies are willing to provide more financially secure illegal immigrants with services ranging from mortgages to health insurance, non-pregnant illegal immigrants and undocumented children over the age of 1 year are generally barred from Medicaid coverage — just like Ignacio on “Ugly Betty.” And children certainly are affected when their parents’ health suffers.
With the risk of deportation for settled immigrant parents increasing, we’re facing a moment of public reckoning. We learned from the Eli�n Gonz�lez fiasco that Americans generally oppose separating children from their parents. But that’s exactly what will happen if we don’t provide undocumented workers with a path toward citizenship.
–Dana Goldstein
