On Thursday, members of the House Judiciary Committee, which belongs to the Republican Party, met with leaders of the Yuma Regional Medical Center. The purpose of the conference was to understand the impact of large immigration flows on local health services. town hall report.

Dr. Robert Trenschel, president and CEO of the medical center, told delegations that his hospital had about $26 million in outstanding fees for services rendered to immigrants. I made it

But Trenschel affirmed that medical centers prioritize patients based on the severity of their illness or injury, regardless of legal status. Medical attention is often sought as they tend to suffer severe illness and injury later.

The city of Yuma, with a population of just under 100,000, has several neighboring towns that contribute an additional 38,000 people to the area. As a result, medical centers were built to serve the needs of this combined population. However, since the influx of migrants that began in the neighborhood in December 2021, the region has witnessed over 300,000 illegal immigration.

“We have to see them. Anyone who needs a visit to the hospital, we have done it. We do it with pride. We don’t have the resources and It just came in,” Trenschel said.

“We’ve been in the ICU for over 60 days…they needed dialysis, heart surgery, heart catheterization, which means they were sick when they came in. Not all But there are many, and some people, hospitals like ours won’t be able to do other things they normally do for their communities.”

While the hospital system isn’t currently facing imminent collapse, Trenschel said the loss of $26 million in a relatively short period of time has had a major impact on its operations.

He went on to reiterate, “It’s the community that suffers.”

The lack of space in maternity wards has forced hospitals to delay the planned introduction of U.S. citizen mothers, Trenshell said. In his words, “Sorry, the maternity ward is full.”

Lawmakers, led by Ohio Republican Speaker Jim Jordan, tried to describe the situation directly on the ground. The Washington Times reported.

However, Democrats chose to boycott the hearings, viewing it as a political ploy.

Jordan disputed this characterization, expressing frustration at the Democrats’ disregard for the experiences of those affected by the issues at hand.

During the hearing, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorcas faced heavy criticism for not having a Democratic defender.

One of the witnesses, Yuma County Superintendent Jonathan Lines, said Mr. Mayorcas lied in a previous meeting with local leaders when he failed to fulfill a promise to fill nine gaps in the border wall. criticized.