California Democratic Congressman Xavier Becerra on Sunday spoke of the connection between President Obama’s efforts to reform medical care and Obama's commitment to reforming immigration law. Becerra sees the two as complementary.
"It is time to reform the immigration laws, so that we never have to debate if a person, a human being, should be included in this reform of medical care," Becerra said on the Spanish-language Univision program "Al Punto." "Let's hope that the president applies the same determination to reforming the immigration laws that he has applied in this matter of health care."
In the meantime, Becerra sees reasons for Latinos to be grateful for President Obama's efforts on the health care front.
"We have to keep in in mind that if we accomplish this (health) reform, the community that will benefit more than any other in this country will be the Latino community." He said Latino citizens and legal residents "are the population that doesn't have health insurance."
The idea is straightforward. First enact health care reform to provide care to the most needy; then enact immigration reform to ensure that those who would otherwise be excluded because of their illegal status no longer have that problem.