On Thursday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed an executive order demanding hospitals in the state now report on patient immigration status to the government.
Abbott asserted that this information is important so the state can determine what the costs are for providing medical care to those in the country illegally.
Announcing the Order
Abbott posted an announcement of the order on the social media platform X, calling out the Biden administration for what he sees as “open border policies.”
“Texans should NOT have to foot the bill for illegal immigrants healthcare,” wrote Abbott. “I issued an Executive Order directing HHSC to collect & report healthcare costs for illegal immigrants. We’ll fight to ensure the Biden-Harris Admin pays back Texas for their costly open border policies.”
Executive Order
In the newly released executive order, Abbott provides the justification that this step to require the collection of immigration information is necessary to figure out the costs of open-border policies imposed on the state by the government.
“Executive Order No. GA-45 relating to the collection of information by the Health and Human Services Commission to asses costs to the Texas public hospital system imposed by the federal government’s open-border policies,” the order reads.
Biden Blamed
The order places the blame squarely on the Biden administration, asserting that they have ignored federal laws to create the conditions that allowed “mass illegal entry” into Texas.
“The Biden-Harris Administration has consistently adopted open-border policies that invite this mass illegal entry into Texas and other States, including by ignoring federal laws that require the federal government to secure the border,” the order says.
Texas Worries
According to the order, more than 11 million people have entered the country illegally in the four years that Biden has been in office.
Texas has the second-highest number of undocumented immigrants of any US state at 1.6 million according to Pew study data.
Operation Lone Star
Texas officials have been hard at work trying to mitigate the influx of immigrants across the border, leading to the creation of “Operation Lone Star” which has seen the state spend over $11 billion to stem this tide of immigration.
“We are having a profound impact in stopping the flow of illegal immigration into the state of Texas,” Abbott said in an interview about Operation Lone Star in April.
What Does the Order Do?
Hospitals in the Texas public health system must now compile data on emergency visits, inpatient discharges, and cost of care for serving illegal immigrants starting on November 1.
The order also creates a requirement to provide regular reports to state authorities and inform affected patients that the information collection is required by law.
What Hospitals Are Affected?
The Health and Human Services Commission in Texas will make a determination of which healthcare centers are required to adhere to the order.
Hospitals that are enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance program will be among those required to submit to the order but others may be required as well.
Why Tally the Costs?
Governor Abbott in the executive order asserts that the federal government needs to be given a bill for the costs that its policies are inflicting on the Lonestar State.
”The federal government may and should be obligated to reimburse the State of Texas for the costs that its open-border policies have imposed on Texas,” the order said.
Hurting Immigrants
Some have come out criticizing the order, reasoning that the requirement to report could dissuade immigrants from seeking necessary medical care out of fear.
“People are allowed to get care regardless of their citizenship,” said Julia Gelatt, an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a non-partisan think tank in Washington. “But we know that asking questions can make people worried about immigration consequences and whether or not it’s safe to seek care.”
ICE Officers
Democrat Texas Representative Sylvia Garcia has also come out against Abbott’s order, accusing the governor of trying to make “ICE officers out of doctors.”
“Here we go again! @GovAbbott yet again social engineering and targeting immigrants. Just unacceptable. He should focus on issues that matter to Texas families like making sure our kids are safe from gun violence in school and fixing our [dang] grid,” Garcia wrote in an X post.
Complying With the Order
According to KHOU, Harris Health, which runs health clinics in Houston, has already said they would comply with the governor’s order.
However, legal analyst Carmen Roe said that people seeking care can’t be forced to answer a question about immigration status and they cannot be denied medical services for being in the country illegally.
