In CBS’ “Buen Arbol” episode of Code Black, a Hispanic mom in America illegally seeks medical help for her young son. Lucky for her, she’s in the sanctuary city of Los Angeles and this hospital won’t alert law enforcement.
When young Pablo is brought to the nation’s busiest emergency room, his mother thought his breathing problems were brought on by asthma. After an examination, Christa (Bonnie Somerville) suspects it is, instead, Cystic Fibrosis. As she explains the diagnosis to the mother, Christa assures her that the disease can be managed with proper care. Deducing that the mother is in America illegally – she didn’t want to fill out paperwork in the admitting room – Christa talks about the options available for her son. The mom seeks assurance that her son won’t be deported, as he was born in America and therefore a citizen.
Anchor baby alert.
Christa: He has abdominal sensitivity, chronic lung infections. That's why I tasted his sweat. It's very salty, which is consistent with cystic fibrosis. I'm calling the lab to confirm.
Mom: What is that?
Christa: It's a manageable disease, but it requires a lot of attention. Hi. This is Dr. Lorenson. I need to -- yeah, I'll hold.
Mom: Uh, what kind of attention?
Christa: We need to discuss your options. You're not here legally, are you?
Mom: But my son is American. I used to work for a family in L.A. And... I made [chuckles] A terrible mistake with my employer. He's Pablo's father. He fired me when I told him I was pregnant.
Christa: Does anyone else know your former employer is Pablo's father?
Mom: His mother did -- Pablo's grandmother. She could tell. She's a good lady. But what can she do, right? You, um... You cannot send Pablo away if he is American, yes?
Christa: We can't, and we would not send him away, no matter who he is or where he's from.
Mom: Then I come to the right place.
You sure did, Mom! You scored big!
One bright spot is that Leanne (Marcia Gay Hardin) tells Christa the truth – it is not the job of the hospital staff to take the child under their wings. They have a job to do and “part of learning this job is learning where it ends.” Though we are subjected to a bleeding heart liberal in the character of Christa, to the point of being a butinski into others’ lives, the viewer is allowed to see professionalism from the doctor in charge. Christa frets that the mom and son will be deported.
If only we could turn a blind eye…
Christa: It's just a band-aid. If his mother tries to get him long-term treatment here, she'll get deported and she'll have to take him with her.
Leanne: We're the first 10 minutes, Christa -- that's all. He's a sick little boy. And we saved his life, because that's what we do. We plug their holes and stitch them up and send them on. We don't follow our patients’ home.
Christa: I promised his mother he'd be okay. I don't feel like I'm keeping my promise. Leanne: Part of learning this job is learning where it ends.
So, after treatment, the boy is ready to be released. But, wait. We have to be lectured – mostly in Spanish – that it just isn’t fair, these mean laws. Jessie, the male Hispanic nurse with a heart of gold, won’t let us down.
Jessie: [ Sighs ] It's not right.
Leanne: What do you mean?
Jessie: That little boy gonna need real care.
Leanne: Well, I don't like it, either.
Jessie: Quien a Buen árbol se arrima, Buena sombra LE cobija.
Leanne: When you...snuggle up to a good tree -- wait -- a good shade will shelter you.
Jessie: It's something my abuela used to say. It means, when you need help, find the best person you can. Does he have any family here?
Leanne: Yeah, he has a father who's apparently not interested.
Jessie: As abuela Anita said, a good tree has many branches.
Never fear, grandma comes to the rescue. (What is it with TV shows using grandmas to pull heartstrings on illegal immigration lately?) As young Pablo is leaving the hospital, kindly American grandma appears. All is well! Seems as though the nation’s busiest emergency room in a sanctuary city allows residents the time to track down blood relatives for kids facing possible deportation.
Why not? That storybook ending makes as much sense as a nation allowing liberal American mayors to break federal immigration laws in first place.
