Posted on 08/18/2010 4:35:58 PM PDT by Oshkalaboomboom
He came to the United States from Cuba, and since he's been here, he's racked up an extensive criminal record, police say.
When he suffered a stroke following a recent arrest, his medical bills hit $400,000. Now, he's paralyzed and in a wheelchair. He needs to be in a nursing home.
So what's next for the suspected criminal that's in the country illegally? It's tough to say.
But one thing's for sure. Douglas County cannot afford to spend any more money on the man, whose last arrest was for cocaine trafficking. The sheriff's office had to ask the county commission recently for more money to cover the man's medical bill.
While much of the debate over illegal immigration has focused on younger populations and students, the Douglas County case focuses specifically on an older man, in his late 60s. The sheriff's office declined to release the man's name due to medical privacy laws.
"While he was in custody, he had a massive stroke which required immediate hospitalization," Chief Deputy Stan Copeland with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office told the AJC.
Following his arrest, he was detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Copeland said.
For several weeks, the man was in a coma, Copeland said. Now he requires constant care because he is paralyzed, but without any type of insurance, Copeland says no facility will take him.
Douglas County officials contacted immigration officials, but were told the man could not be deported.
"He's Cuban, and you can't deport Cubans," Copeland said.
Roswell attorney Joseph Rosen, who specializes in immigration laws, said the U.S. does not deport people back to Cuba, regardless of the circumstances.
The Douglas County District Attorney eventually dropped charges because of the inmate's deteriorated condition, Copeland said. The county is off the hook, but that comes after thousands of taxpayer dollars have already been spent on one man's care.
"He was a tax burden for us being in custody," Chief Deputy Stan Copeland with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office told the AJC. "But even after the fact, now what happens?”
If he suffered from a sudden case of lead poisoning...
No matter what we do, we are screwed.
We don’t deport Cubans? Like hell we don’t.
Costs about a cool million before they turn 18 and DON'T graduate high school, so this happens with more than the medical IMO.
Send him to Gitmo and toss him over the wall.
How is he in the US illegally?
Under NObama HELLTH care, we would all be paying for this illegal criminal.
Didn’t Clinton & Reno send back the Gonsales kid????
Marco Rubio and Bill McCollum plus Jeb Bush should pay for him.
Still makes my blood boil to this day.
Meaning - need more details to determine that.
No, really, our leftist friends are always telling us how wonderful it is that Cuba has free health care for everybody. Why can’t we send this delightful gentleman back so he can benefit from it?
WHY IN HELL CAN’T WE DEPORT CUBANS???????? YES, I’M SHOUTING BECAUSE I AM SICK AND TIRED OF THIS CRAP!!!!!
IF THIS GOVERNMENT WOULD JUST DO IT’S JOB, THERE WOULD BE NO BUDGET PROBLEM. ILLEGALS ARE RUNNING THIS COUNTRY INTO BANKRUPCY.
Just refer him to one of the Obamination’s death panels.
I don't think he came to the US illegally. It's his criminal record since then that would normally get him deported.
His age makes me think that he came here in the Mariel boatlift in 1980. At the time, Castro is alleged to have emptied his prisons and asylums, literally dumping criminals and mentally ill people into boats heading for the US.
The US didn't have a way to separate them from legitimate refugees, and if they were prosecuted for crimes in the US, there was no way to deport them. So, they have languished in jails ever since.
Cuba has wonderful free health care!
Time for an air drop over Cuba!
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