# So, was Jesica Santillan an illegal alien or not?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-was-jesica-santillan-an-illegal-alien-or-not/157080>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 24, 2003, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-was-jesica-santillan-an-illegal-alien-or-not/157080 "2003-02-24T03:28:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Hermann\_Cheruscan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b782af/32.png) [@Hermann\_Cheruscan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermann_Cheruscan)\
**Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-was-jesica-santillan-an-illegal-alien-or-not/157080/1 "2003-02-24T03:28:53Z")

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Jesica Santillan is the the 17 year old who recieved 2 sets of heart-lung transplants, and just recently passed away.

All of the threads I’ve seen on this board dealing with her and her operation have had posts which enquired about her legal status in the US. Some posters have said that she was legally in this country, some have said she was illegally in this country. Most have said it didn’t matter either way.

Since this is the GQ forum, where only factual yes or no questions belong, I must ask. Was Jesica Santillan an illegal alien, yes or no.

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-was-jesica-santillan-an-illegal-alien-or-not/157080/2 "2003-02-24T03:44:29Z")

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There is already an active question on this subject in **Great Debates**

Nothing conclusive has come out of it, and it quickly generated into a debate about immigration, priorities, etc.

I doubt that your question in this forum will fare much better, but good luck.

[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=164769](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=164769)

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**Author:** ![Hermann\_Cheruscan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b782af/32.png) [@Hermann\_Cheruscan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermann_Cheruscan)\
**Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-was-jesica-santillan-an-illegal-alien-or-not/157080/3 "2003-02-24T03:56:36Z")

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Thats why I posted this question in General Questions. I do not wish to debate the issue, but would like to find out the truth. I would think that the answer would be fairly easy to find.

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**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\
**Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-was-jesica-santillan-an-illegal-alien-or-not/157080/4 "2003-02-24T04:11:59Z")

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The [New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/23/health/23GIRL.html) says

> [@](#):
>
> With the chance of a transplant in Mexico virtually impossible, they paid a smuggler to take them to the United States, through the desert and eventually to Durham, where relatives had said there were hospitals to help them.