This letter was published in the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, on April 28, 2001

Migrants' country of origin should pay for medical costs

Re: the April 17 article titled, "Migrants' medical costs burden providers."

It is no more the responsibility of the Border Patrol to pay the medical bills of illegal entrants than it is the police departments' responsibility to pay the medical bills for persons injured in automobile accidents.

I do agree that the counties should not be responsible for these enormous bills either. The illegal immigrants' countries of origin need to accept full responsibility for necessary medical bills. After all, they are legal citizens of those countries.

Perhaps if the United States demanded payment and deducted the bills from annual foreign aid donations when those countries did not pay up, we may see them taking a more serious look at the problem they have created.

Henry J. Selfridge