The State - News from Dec. 30, 1987

Although she has lived in the United States since 1912 and instilled her fierce patriotism upon five generations of Polish-Americans, 95-year-old Stefania Ludwika Babinski may lose her Medi-Cal benefits because government officials consider her an illegal alien. The Shasta County welfare office sent Babinski a notice advising her she was “not legally present” and therefore not eligible for the Medi-Cal allowance that helps pay her room and board at a Redding convalescent hospital. The family of the great-great-great-grandmother tried to chronicle her past, but the welfare office ignored a shopping bag filled with rent receipts, medical bills and a marriage license. “Length of stay does not a citizen make,” said Richard Griffith, an INS officer in Redding. “It’s interesting that she’s been here that long and had no problems.” Family members swallowed their pride and pushed the wheelchair-bound Babinski to the immigration office recently to apply for a green card. The Medi-Cal cutoff awaits a ruling by a hearing officer.