Illegals Push Native-Born Little Old Ladies and Children Out of Their Hospital Beds

That's what some nativists would have you believe. Similar, but less extreme claims, are made by Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colorado) who asserts :

While illegal immigration isn't generally the first thing Americans think of when they think about health care, it has a significant impact on the cost, availability and quality of health care available to Americans.

Significant? A short item in the March/April issue of Foreign Policy (not available online) based on a Rand Corporation study takes look at the claim. The FP notes that U.S.-born residents make up 86.9 percent of the population; legal immigrants 9.9 percent and illegals 3.2 percent. Their respective shares of healthcare spending are 91.5 percent, 7 percent and 1.5 percent.

Based on that data, the FP concludes: "You can no longer argue that illegal immigrants are an excessive burden on U.S. healthcare."