Many undocumented immigrants enter the country and work for years without being detected. They are able to receive emergency medical treatments without revealing their identities. The situation becomes more difficult when they are asked to pay their medical bills later. In Mississippi, critically ill or injured patients who cannot consent to their deportations are likely to have their rights violated.
A violation of an individual’s rights
Medical deportation is the removal of a critically ill or injured patient who is an immigrant from another country. The patient is often too sick to consent to the deportation or their caretaker has not been informed of the decision.
Medical deportations of undocumented immigrants are frequently underreported, which means that these events occur rampantly and without oversight. There could be tens of thousands of medical deportations that are never resolved.
Defending an immigrant patient
Undocumented patients lack identification documents and are unable to obtain standard medical treatments. Many of them are treated and then immediately discharged or reported to immigration agencies. They may not receive the full extent of the lifesaving treatments that they need first.
Deporting any patient without their consent is not always legal. The patient may be too mentally or physically incapacitated to understand immigration laws and the rights of healthcare patients. The U.S. government does not have the final choice in every decision. Under immigration law, strategies exist to cancel or reverse the removal process.
Medical deportations often involve critically ill patients who cannot provide their consent. They may have authorized caretakers who are not informed of the process either. These deportations may be violations of the rights of these patients.
