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No, Stephen, Undocumented Immigrants Aren't Bankrupting Healthcare [1]

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Date: 2025-07-10

The idea that “illegal aliens” are the main reason your healthcare bill looks like a ransom note is pure fiction. Stephen Miller, ever the reliable foghorn for right-wing scapegoating, wants you to believe that undocumented immigrants are the reason you’re paying through the nose at the doctor’s office. He posted on X today, “A primary driver of healthcare costs in America is the free or subsidized healthcare provided to illegal aliens and their families.” That’s not just wrong—it’s a classic bait-and-switch, the kind of thing you’d expect from a guy who’s made a career out of pointing fingers at the powerless while the real culprits laugh all the way to the bank.

The Numbers Don’t Lie—But Miller Does

First, the facts. Undocumented immigrants make up about 3% of the U.S. population. They’re mostly locked out of public health programs like Medicaid and the ACA exchanges. The law says so. The only “free” care they get is in the ER, and that’s because federal law (EMTALA, 1986) says hospitals can’t turn away dying people. That’s not a loophole for freeloaders—it’s basic decency, the kind you’d expect in any country that hasn’t completely lost its soul.

Actual studies—real ones, not the fever dreams of Fox News—show that immigrants, especially the undocumented, use less healthcare than U.S. citizens. They’re younger, healthier, and less likely to see a doctor. When they do, they pay out of pocket more often than not. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found that immigrants contribute more in taxes than they take in services, including healthcare. If you want to blame someone for your $5,000 ER bill, try the insurance companies, Big Pharma, and the hospital execs who charge $100 for a Tylenol.

The Oldest Trick in the Book

So why does Miller keep flogging this dead horse? Because it works. Blaming “illegals” for everything is a time-tested way to rile up the base, distract from real problems, and keep the money and power flowing in the right direction (hint: not yours). It’s the same playbook used by demagogues throughout history. When the Nazis wanted to explain Germany’s problems, they pointed at the Jews. When Southern politicians wanted to keep poor whites and Blacks from uniting, they invented stories about “dangerous Negroes.” Now, it’s “illegal aliens” stealing your healthcare, your jobs, your sense of safety.

It’s not just lazy—it’s dangerous. This kind of scapegoating doesn’t just mislead; it breeds hate. It gives people a target for their anger, someone to blame when life gets hard. And it lets the real villains—corporate lobbyists, corrupt politicians, the ultra-rich—keep picking your pocket while you’re busy yelling at the guy washing dishes in the back of the restaurant.

Miller’s Greatest Hits: Blame the Outsider

This isn’t Miller’s first rodeo. He’s blamed immigrants for crime, for “destroying American culture,” for supposedly rigging elections. He’s pushed the “caravan” panic, the “migrant crime wave” myth, and the idea that refugees are Trojan horses for terrorism. Every time, the facts say otherwise. Crime rates among immigrants are lower than among native-born Americans. Refugees are vetted more thoroughly than your average senator. But facts don’t matter when you’re selling fear.

The Real Cost of Hate

Let’s call this what it is: bigotry dressed up as economic concern. It’s a shell game, and you’re the mark. The more you buy into it, the more you lose—your money, your dignity, your sense of who your real allies are. Meanwhile, the folks at the top keep getting richer, and the rest of us keep fighting over scraps.

If you want to fix healthcare, start with the price-gougers, the insurance rackets, the politicians who take their money and do their bidding. Don’t fall for the old trick of blaming the people with the least power. That’s not just bad math—it’s bad morals.

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