The New York Times Article >>

Yesterday The New York Times published a long, poignant article that centered on the plight of Luis Alberto Jiménez -- an undocumented immigrant who was injured in a car accident in Florida and treated at a community hospital, which eventually sent him back to Guatemala.

Though it is a sad story to read, I felt happy to see it published on the front page of the Sunday edition and given so much space to convey the complicated issues involved. It brought to the public a complex story with many viewpoints expressed. Hundreds of people commented, many thoughtfully. It was the second-most emailed story today. It gives me some hope that perhaps our government and health care leaders might be pushed into helping us hold civil conversations that, in turn, might form the basis of fixing our broken health care and immigration systems.

I encourage all who are concerned about health care access, immigrants, and immigration issues to read and comment on this article, either here, or on the Times site. (Registration required)