Image By Gage Skidmore
Donald Trump’s plan to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants from the U.S. could potentially make America sick and could hurt Sacramento’s public health. According to a study done by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2011, it is estimated that there are two-million undocumented immigrants in California alone.
“They have to go. We either have a country, or we don’t have a country,” Donald Trump told NBC’S Meet The Press. “We’re going to keep the families together, but they have to go.”
American College of Physicians President Dr. Wayne Riley told thinkprogress.org that mass deportation would cause “distrust of anyone assumed to be associated with federal, state and local government, including physicians and other health care professionals providing care in publicly-funded hospitals and clinics.”
This should be taken as a warning to Trump that his plan to deport undocumented peoples may hurt America and its public health. The deportation plan would install fear of being deported in undocumented immigrants and they might avoid hospitals despite having medical issues.
Image by Gage Skidmore
This assumed fear has historical examples. In one case, a 20 year old worker became quadriplegic after an incident at a construction site. After he was denied prolonging care on a ventilator, he was deported to Mexico and later died. Another case at a New York clinic denied a kidney transplant for an undocumented woman before the clinic changed their mind.
This could be very concerning to many undocumented immigrants because if Trump’s plan goes underway, that would mean they have no place to go if any one of them gets sick or catches a disease because of the fear of being deported. They would try to fight and pass through whatever medical issue they may have to avoid a hospital stay and not become deported.
In Sacramento County there are 50,000 undocumented immigrants. Each of which could be too afraid to go to a hospital and potentially putting the community at risk of communicable diseases.
“Trump refuses to see the reality,” said Diana Vaca Oropeza, a student at John F. Kennedy when asked about her opinions on the mass deportation plan. “This is an act of racism towards a group of people.”
Still, there are mixed views on the mass deportation plan of Trump, with many people supporting the plan and others very against it.
