Parkland Hospital & Immigration (of the Illegal variety)

The Dallas Morning News this week featured Parkland hospital, which boasts the nation's second-busiest maternity unit, in relation to the immigration debate (link):

Since Parkland opened in 1895, it has served Dallas' indigent population, which often includes uninsured minority and immigrant residents.

A recent patient survey indicated that 70 percent of the women who gave birth at Parkland in the first three months of 2006 were illegal immigrants, hospital officials said.

These Hispanic women had been having their babies at Parkland without much attention until the recent debate over illegal immigration. Critics have questioned the ease with which illegal immigrants are delivering their babies at U.S. hospitals – at taxpayers' expense.