According to the Washington Post, the Bush administration is working on a plan that is being pushed by the Mexican government that would add hundreds of thousands of Mexicans onto the Social Security roster and send hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits south of the border.

According to Latino lobbyists close to the Mexican government, Mexican President Vicente Fox and President Bush's agreement with Mexico is something of a consolation prize to make up for Bush's failure to pursue promised immigration reform.

In fact, the proposed measure is a dramatic example of cross-border "harmonization" in which the political and economic systems are being blended together, thereby placing new burdens on already overburdened U.S. taxpayers.

From Brownsville, Texas, to Douglas, Ariz., Mexican ambulance drivers are transporting hospital patients unable to pay for medical care or emergency room services in their country to facilities in the United States, where treatment is mandated by federal law.

Hospitals in Mexico are pointing the ambulances north when they discover a patient can't pay for services. Under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, hospitals are required to treat anyone who requires care, including illegal aliens. Some emergency rooms along the border have shut down, and others will close because they simply cannot afford to stay open.

The most cost effective solution would be for the federal government to carry out its constitutionally mandated duty to protect our borders against incursions staged by the regime to the south.

Robert Williams

Stockton

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