Several weeks ago, the media highlighted the plight of a man who was diagnosed with cancer and needed chemotherapy. However, due to the fact that he did not have a valid social security number or legal residency in the United States, he was denied this life-saving treatment.
The predicament of this gentleman is not unique. There are many people in the United States who are currently denied medical procedures and treatments that are required to save their lives. The simple reason is because they cannot show legal presence in the United States. Many of these incidents are unreported as such patients often feel there is nothing they can do about it, or else do not know to whom they can turn for assistance.
Whilst the American Medical Association Medical Code of ethics encourages medical practitioners to volunteer a portion of their time to people who cannot be otherwise treated in the hospital setting, there is the limitation faced by these doctors of not having access to the costs of the drugs and the equipment that may be needed for treatment of such things as cancers and the need for dialysis.
In terms of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, hospitals cannot refuse to treat undocumented persons, who go to the Emergency Department. But what happens after an undocumented person has been diagnosed with a condition for which, without starting immediate medical intervention such as chemotherapy or radiation treatment, death within months is guaranteed.
In the North Carolina case of Medina v Division of Social Services, treatment of cancer for undocumented persons falls into the definition of a medical emergency. A medical emergency has been said to include ''any condition that is of such severity that in the absence of immediate medical attention, the patient's health would be placed in serious jeopardy.'' The standard has also been to include symptoms that must be so severe that the absence of medical attention could result in serious injury to an organ of the body and subsequent cause of that body part not to function properly.
The definitions shown above, however, inspires a more imminent harm of serious injury or death within hours. However, it does not take a medical expert to conclude that if a person who has a condition such as cancer, or kidney failure or a similar body system failure condition, does not receive medical intervention after their diagnosis, they are likely to face a medical emergency for which they would be required by law to treat in the emergency room of a hospital. As such, denial of undocumented persons of lifesaving medical treatment post diagnosis is counterproductive and extremely unhumanitarian.
The U.S government does provide for humanitarian parole for people who are otherwise inadmissible to come into the United States for the length of that compelling medical emergency. However, this visa is used very sparingly by the U.S government. It also does not do much to assist the thousands who are in the US without documentation, who need medical or surgical treatment.
In light of the above, it is important for undocumented persons to start thinking about what will happen if they require medical treatment beyond that they are offered by their family doctor or the clinic. In such circumstances, it is important to consult a competent attorney who is familiar with how the immigration system works. Many people are unaware that they can qualify for residency through a family member and have not started the process. Many others have approved petitions, but are waiting in limbo for changes in the law which would allow them to obtain their residency without leaving the United States and due to long waits, have become disheartened or complacent and have not followed up on the process.
Whatever category of undocumented persons you may be in, if a person has a medical condition that requires treatment further than that your primary healthcare provider (family doctor or the clinic) can provide, we recommend you contact an immigration attorney who can review your case and assist you in getting you some kind of legal status in the United States, whether permanent or temporary, and, consequently, the life saving medical and surgical treatment you need.
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