Laura Zuniga, Reigning Miss Sinaloa 2008, of Mexico, Arrested With Suspected Gang Members

Photo: Fox News, Laura Zuniga in victory and defeat

Like Barack Obama said on the campaign trail, “if you put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig.” Sometimes when you try to change a person’s mindset, they still revert back to that, no matter how hard you try. Well, Laura Zuniga, the reigning Miss Sinaloa 2008, of Mexico, was arrested with suspected gang members in a truck filled with guns and ammunition. Of course, she tried to conceal her face during the process.

Zuniga was arrested shortly before midnight on Monday at a military checkpoint in Zapopan, just outside the colonial city of Guadalajara, said Jalisco state police director, Francisco Alejandro Solorio.

Zuniga was riding in one of two trucks, where soldiers found a large stash of weapons, including two AR-15 assault rifles, .38 specials, 9mm handguns, nine magazines, 633 cartridges and $53,300 in U.S. currency, Solorio said Tuesday.

State police identified one of the men caught with her as the brother of an alleged drug trafficker from Ciudad Juarez, a city on the U.S. border, and said the man appeared to have been her boyfriend. Zuniga told police that she was planning on traveling to Bolivia and Colombia with the men to go shopping, Solorio said.

Oh well, there goes her crown and her shot at a better life. People have to be careful of the company they keep or they will be faced with a life filled with trouble. Source: Fox News

When the former preschool teacher won Miss Sinaloa in July she gave an impassioned speech about how society should value women more, especially mothers. In October, she won the Hispanoamerican Queen beauty contest in October against competitors from across Latin America.

She placed third in the Nuestra Belleza Mexico pageant in Monterrey in September. That pageant sends its winner to the Miss Universe contest. For placing third, she was expected to represent Mexico in the 2009 Miss International contest. Source: Fox News

It seems that she has found herself among the most corrupt in Mexico. Again, if you put lipstick on a pig, it is still a pig.

Filed under: Arrested, Laura Zuniga, Mexican Drug Dealers, Mexico, Miss Sinaloa 2008, Miss Universe

Comatose Francisco Pantaleon, Undocumented Mexican Immigrant, Set to Be Deported

I am deadset against illegal immigration, but I must admit that I feel a sense of shame over the plight of Francisco Pantaleon, who has been in a coma, and set to be deported back to Mexico. He is currently at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago. His plight has ignited a dispute over a little-known practice at hospitals—sending medically needy undocumented immigrants back to their countries of origin.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the disagreement revolves around Pantaleon, who arrived in the U.S. 11 years ago and suffered a severe brain hemorrhage in mid-July. A father of two, Pantaleon worked at a carwash and has no health insurance, his sister Socorro said.

The medical center believes there is “little hope for recovery,” according to a statement released Tuesday, and officials arranged for Pantaleon to be transferred to a hospital in Acapulco at UIC’s expense. An official said his immediate family consented to the move.

But Pantaleon’s sister and cousin are protesting that arrangement and have retained lawyers in hopes of preventing it. “This is an injustice,” said his sister, who worries that Pantaleon won’t survive the trip or find adequate care in Mexico.

To be bluntly honest, this dispute touches on two hot-button issues, Immigration and health care. With the exception of pregnant women some children and people in medical emergencies, illegal immigrants generally have no right to health care in the U.S. But access to long-term care—the kind of services Pantaleon appears to need—is not guaranteed even if the patients are U.S. citizens, with the exception of the very poor.

Legally, hospitals are bound to stabilize all patients in an emergency, regardless of their nationality or insurance status. Afterward they are required to arrange to transfer patients to settings where they can receive adequate care, said Doreena Wong, staff attorney for the National Health Law Program. The difficulty is, nursing homes in Chicago usually will not serve undocumented immigrants who don’t have health insurance or any means to pay for care.”We can’t arrange long-term care here, so we try to do the best we can in the country of origin,” said Dr. William Chamberlin, chief medical officer at UIC Medical Center.

Members of Pantaleon’s family appealed to the Mexican Consulate for help last week, said Ioana Navarrete, consul for the protection department.”There were certain legal procedures that the hospital should have followed that they bypassed,” she said, noting that the medical center failed to inform the consulate of plans to move Pantaleon, a Mexican citizen.

I feel for this man, but where do we draw the line with illegal immigration and its implications. I pray that they find a suitable solution for Mr. Pantaleon. If he is sent back to Mexico, then I hope he will be placed in one of the best hospitals there. I am sure the government can work that out. If he is allowed to remain here, then we are setting a precedent that some may find dangerous. The problem is that there are millions of Americans who cannot get proper health care because they have no health insurance and are poor. Shouldn’t we be taking care of our own people first? I can see the position that we have a moral obligation to Mr. Pantaleon, but don’t we owe all Americans the same moral consideration? You be the judge…..

Filed under: Francisco Pantaleon, Illegal Immigration, Mexico