In the aftermath of a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida that targeted mainly LGBT Latinos, some survivors of the tragedy will have an especially hard time recovering thanks to the federal U.S. immigration system. The sudden and tragic deaths in a predominantly Latino community highlight the grim reality that some financial burdens — like funeral costs and medical bills — are too much for undocumented immigrants and their loved ones to afford. As Fusion reported this week, at least two undocumented immigrants are recovering from being shot in the nightclub. A third man who was a Mexican citizen passed away earlier this week.
It’s still unclear how many other undocumented immigrants were affected by the tragedy. What is clear, however, is that the barriers posed by their immigration status will make it harder for them and their families to pick up the pieces after the attack.
In Florida, about 2.8 million people under the age of 65 are uninsured, giving the state the second-highest uninsured rate in the nation. According to a 2015 Kaiser Family Foundation analysis, about 384,000 of those people are undocumented immigrants.
For many families, no matter how much money they raise they still may not be able to get permission to come to the U.S.
Undocumented immigrants often struggle to get connected to the health care they need because they don’t qualify for government-sponsored insurance programs. They can pay for private health insurance, but those plans are often prohibitively expensive for a population whose average family-of-four income hovers around $22,050 in Florida. And while some of them may make their way to community clinics, which serve patients regardless of immigration status, that isn’t equivalent to having comprehensive health insurance.
In addition to physical treatment, the trauma of the tragedy will likely persist and members of the Orlando community will probably need additional mental health support. Here, too, there are major barriers in the immigrant community. Mental health services are underutilized by undocumented immigrants who may be unable to afford counseling sessions, may come from a immigrant background where counseling is an “alien” concept, or may be unable to take time off work to go see a counselor.
Burying their dead may also be difficult for the immigrants in Florida. Burial plans for the Mexican man are underway, though his family and friends are concerned that they won’t be able to pay the $6,000 needed to repatriate and bury his body. The Mexican consulate has stepped in to foot half the bill to repatriate the body, but loved ones are struggling to pay for the funeral.
“For many families, no matter how much money they raise they still may not be able to get permission to come to the U.S.,” Yesica Ramirez, an organizer with The Farmworker Association of Florida, told Fusion. “For the family to be watching this back in their countries and not be able to help their sons is painful; this all hurts the family back home too.”
Some loved ones may not be able to attend the funerals of their friends and family since they may not be able to get visas to come to the U.S., Ramirez pointed out.
Some immigrant advocacy groups are helping as much as they can through the #SomosOrlando website, which connects immigrants and others who face language barriers with attorneys, places of worship, and mental health professionals. Local churches have stepped in to provide bilingual counseling and worship support. One church, Metro Church, has even offered its facilities to be used free of charge to host funerals. And multiple online crowdfunding campaigns are raising thousands of dollars to help with victims’ medical costs.
California May Become First State To Extend Obamacare Coverage To Undocumented ImmigrantsHealth by CREDIT: AP Photo, Damian Dovarganes, File California Sen. Ricardo Lara (D) is pushing a bill through the…thinkprogress.orgAlthough Florida has yet to accommodate the health needs for its state’s undocumented population, lawmakers in other states have recently made some progress in this area.
California, another state with a big immigrant population, is actively trying to take down barriers to affordable health care. Last week, Gov. Jery Brown (D) signed a law that would allow undocumented immigrants to buy health insurance through Obamacare’s state health exchanges. As ThinkProgress previously reported, the law would ask “the federal government to allow the state the right to open its exchange (Covered California, in California’s case) to undocumented immigrants — which is currently illegal under the Affordable Care Act.”
Studies show that giving people quality preventative heath care services to people early in their lives could help them use fewer services when they get older.