Lawsuit charges anti-immigrant sentiment

CHICAGO, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- A suburban Chicago woman has filed a $30 million federal lawsuit charging her son failed to receive proper medical care because of anti-immigrant sentiment.

The suit, filed on behalf of Gloria Lopez, charges paramedics in Carpentersville with failing to take her 4-month-old son to the hospital, allowing his condition to worsen to the point where he suffered brain damage, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday.

Village paramedics Diane Graham and Martin Gruber are accused of having Lopez' babysitter, who does not speak English, sign a form declining care after she called 911 because the infant was ill.

"They failed to take the baby (to the hospital) in an environment where there was an effort to limit services to undocumented immigrants of Hispanic descent," says Ted Karavidas, the attorney for Gloria Lopez.

At the time, the village board in Carpentersville was divided over efforts to crack down on illegal immigrants.

About 40 percent of the town's 37,000 residents are Latino.