Flint’s Undocumented Residents Go Without Care in Wake of Water Crisis
Tina Vasquez on Rewire reports that. in the months since the Flint, Michigan water crisis made national headlines, problems have not abated for area residents, many of whom still rely on filters and bottled water to satisfy a basic human need.
Amid news of widespread rashes and hair loss, advocates interviewed by Rewire are reporting that Flint’s undocumented communities continue to go without access to testing and treatment for lead poisoning. Among other reasons, the government system the state has selected for the provision of health care—Medicaid—has made access challenging for some undocumented residents. In light of the crisis, some advocates are collecting testimonies in hopes of qualifying area residents for visas that offer victims of crimes certain protections, including a moratorium on their deportation. In one such testimony, a Flint resident shares that their family was drinking contaminated water for three months before being made aware of the water crisis. To this day, they say they have yet to receive any information on the consequences of lead poisoning and are still unaware of where testing can be done and whether or not it’s free.
KJ