The bill would also require hospital officials to file annual reports of how many illegal immigrants they treated.
Rep. Steve Smith (R) authored the bill, saying it is designed to track how many illegal residents receive free medical care in Arizona, according to the report. He said the bill is not designed to withhold care but to collect information.
Critics have voiced concern that the bill would affect immigrant women especially hard and create a “chilling effect” on immigrants seeking critical and/or preventive healthcare for themselves and their families. Others question the principle of having hospital employees essentially monitor immigration, according to the report.
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