Although many people celebrated the House’s recent approval of a sweeping reform of the nation’s health care system, immigrants across the country must have reacted differently to the health care bill that was passed. Under the comprehensive health care bill, undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. may be mandated to have health insurance, but will be ineligible to receive federal subsidies and would have to pay in full for coverage. If they do not purchase insurance, they will be fined.

The controversy over how undocumented immigrants would fit into the new health care system has sparked a debate that points to a larger need to fix the immigration system in America. Better paths to citizenship must be created so that immigrants can have access to the same health care opportunities as all Americans.

These debates and decisions about undocumented immigrants and the health care system dehumanize the 10-12 million undocumented immigrants living in this country by classifying them as unqualified for receiving the basic human right of medical care.

As the health care reform bill moves along to the Senate, I hope U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins can recognize and address how the debates on health care reform reveal a need for America to reform the immigration system in an effort to provide equal treatment for all people living in the United States.

Liz Leberman, Lewiston