Amnesty Seekers in Good Health, Survey Reveals

Illegal aliens applying for amnesty in San Diego County are virtually as healthy as legal U.S. residents, according to the results of a survey released Thursday.

“The encouraging news is that the population is not anywhere near as sick as we had feared,” said Paul B. Simms of the San Diego County Department of Health Services.

Officials said the survey appeared to be the first such study nationwide, and a significant indication that fears of widespread ill health among amnesty applicants were unfounded.

However, while the survey showed that the occurrence of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis was not especially high among amnesty aspirants, the results also indicated that the great majority of applicants lacked any health insurance and few had had regular contact with physicians. Those facts could pose future dilemmas for local officials already concerned about the prospective costs of providing health care to undocumented immigrants legalized under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

“That impact is going to be significant,” Simms said during a news briefing in San Diego, “and I am convinced that it’s going to tax or overtax county health care services.”

Baby Factor

Simms noted, for example, that a significant number of the amnesty applicants surveyed--about 29%--were females of child-bearing age who probably will need prenatal and newborn care. Among the general population in San Diego County, he noted, about 25% of the population are women of child-bearing age.

In fact, the most frequent “medical condition” reported among amnesty applicants in the survey was pregnancy. Of the almost 3,000 applicants surveyed, pregnancies were reported by 24.

At least one state official welcomed the survey’s key finding--that the amnesty population is in basically good health.

“Taking the data on the face of it, I think that I’d breathe a sigh of relief if it was this way on a statewide basis,” said Mark Helmar, assistant secretary for program and fiscal affairs for the state Health and Welfare Agency. “It’s a good sign.”

State and local officials said they knew of no other survey like the one just completed in San Diego. No similar studies are being conducted in Orange and Los Angeles counties, two other areas with large undocumented populations, officials there said.

In San Diego County, about 50,000 illegal aliens are expected to apply for amnesty, according to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. More than 90% will eventually obtain legal status, the INS estimates.

Concern Over Costs

Health and education authorities have expressed considerable concern about the cost of providing services to the newly legalized population, which is expected to total 900,000 people in California. For instance, there was concern that illegal aliens who once feared to use public services will now put a heavy demand on the system.

“Maybe some people who were afraid to use emergency (care) in the past because of their illegal status will now make use of it,” noted Irene Riley of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.

Illegal aliens are barred from using a number of public services, including general assistance and Aid to Families With Dependent Children. With legalization, however, they will be eligible for some services.

To offset such costs, Congress authorized annual expenditures of $1 billion for each of the next four years; the money is aimed at helping states and local governments meet expenses for providing health, public assistance and education services to newly legalized residents. California, with its huge undocumented population, is expected to receive more than any other state--about $1.5 billion during the four years. However, officials have maintained that it will be insufficient.

Authorities in San Diego based their conclusions on a survey of the health status of 2,954 undocumented immigrants who filed applications for legalization, or amnesty, under the new immigration law between May 5 and July 13. That number represents about 22% of all amnesty applicants in San Diego County during that period. Information was taken from the medical examination that all amnesty applicants must complete.

Infectious Diseases

Immigration law allows the exclusion of immigrants with some infectious diseases and other serious ailments. However, waivers are commonly granted when the diseases are under treatment and control.

Such waivers are not being provided to aliens demonstrating symptoms of AIDS. But immigration officials noted that testing for the presence of the AIDS virus is not being conducted for would-be immigrants until Dec. 1.

Officials plan to update the survey every three months.

Among the results of the 2,954 applicants surveyed:

- There were only 19 cases of syphilis and 16 cases of tuberculosis, meaning less than 1% of the applicants were affected by either ailment. Officials said the percentage was only slightly more than among the general population here. “We were afraid it might be as much as 20%,” said Simms, who is deputy director of the division of physical health services for the San Diego County health department.

- Other health problems include cardiac disorders (17 applicants), hypertension and high blood pressure (14), obesity (13) and various infections (10). Officials said none of those numbers was particularly high.

- In a significant indication for health-care planning purposes, 92% of those surveyed are uninsured for health care. The high number of uninsured applicants could result in higher indigent-care costs for counties.

- More than half (58%) of the applicants had no prior contact with the private physician or clinic that administered the examination. The applicants were allowed to choose from a pool of physicians and clinics certified by the INS. This result, officials said, indicates that most applicants make minimal visits to physicians.

- Only about 1% of applicants surveyed are 65 years or older, compared to about 12.3% of the population as a whole. Simms said elderly residents are more likely to need public services.