FIRST LEGALIZE THEM ALL, THEN BAN ILLEGALS:

Senior Democrat turns healthcare debate into fight over immigration (Alexander Bolton, 09/18/09, The Hill)

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) is putting Democrats in a bind by seeking to let illegal immigrants benefit from the healthcare overhaul. [...]

The Senate Finance Committee bill, drafted by centrist chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), does not allow illegal immigrants to purchase health coverage over an exchange set up to create competition within the insurance industry and reduce costs.

Menendez is troubled by that language and has joined Hispanic advocacy groups in criticizing the bill for placing too heavy a burden on legal and illegal immigrants.

Immigrants are not required to show proof of citizenship or legal residency to buy health insurance. If they were prohibited from participating in an insurance exchange, they would be forced to buy coverage at a significantly higher cost than legal residents.

Hispanic advocates argue that companies employing illegal immigrants would be tempted to opt out of the national health insurance exchange to avoid having to verify the immigration status of all their workers. Nearly half of illegal immigrants receive health insurance from their employers, according to one estimate.

Mr. Obama, like W before him, tackled the wrong problem first.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 18, 2009 7:17 AM