YUMA, Ariz. (NewsNation) — A hospital in Yuma County, Arizona, is concerned it may not be able to care for the influx of undocumented individuals that are expected to arrive after Title 42 expires.
Yuma Regional Medical Center said it is already spending around $26 million in unpaid expenses for treating migrants — and that was before the end of the COVID-19-era immigration policy. The hospital estimates that it has treated about 300,000 migrants over the past two years.
According to the hospital, they frequently treat pregnant mothers who traveled miles to cross the southern border. Many of them have never received any prenatal care. Many of the mothers and children frequently face complications and often spend extended periods of time in the Natal Intensive Care Unit.
Some residents are concerned the number of migrants will overwhelm the hospital and divert care away from local patients.
House Republicans passed a sweeping bill on Thursday to build more U.S.-Mexico border wall and impose new restrictions on asylum-seekers, creating a hardline counter to President Joe Biden’s policies just as migrants are amassing along the border.
The bill has virtually no chance of becoming law. Democrats, who have a narrow hold on the Senate, have decried the aggressive measures in the bill as “cruel” and “anti-immigrant,” and Biden has already promised he will veto it if it reaches his desk.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.