Open health exchange enrollment will lead to little change for illegal immigrants
Nathan Cortez, professor at SMU's Dedman School of Law, talks about how undocumented immigrants are unaffected by the new healthcare exchanges.
By Monika Diaz
DALLAS -- Every year, 20,000 people walk through the doors of Los Barrios Unidos Community Clinic in Dallas.
It's the place the uninsured turn to for help. No one is turned away.
"66 percent of the patients that we see do not have health insurance," said Leonor Marquez, CEO of Los Barrios Unidos Community Clinic.
Some of those patients will soon get the chance to purchase their own coverage through the federal health exchange, also commonly known as Obamacare.
But, the undocumented - those illegally living in the country - under the law, are not supposed to sign up....
SMU Dedman School of Law professor Nathan Cortez looked at the issue.
"Making any overture towards undocumented immigrants would have again just poisoned the entire bill," Cortez said....