Court Denies Benefits to Paralyzed Immigrant

(CN) - A paralyzed illegal immigrant is not entitled to benefits from the Florida Department of Health, a Florida appeals court ruled.

Miguel Mora Rodriguez suffered paralysis on the right side of his body and other neurological injuries in a car accident. An administrative law judge determined that he was allowed to participate in Florida's Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program.

The Department of Health appealed, and the 1st District Court of Appeal reversed the ruling in a per-curiam decision.

The judges ruled that the BSCI program services are a state public benefit under the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.

For that reason, "and because the Florida Legislature has not affirmatively provided that illegal aliens are eligible for the BSCI program," the judges declared Rodriguez ineligible.

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