Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott Thursday ordered hospitals in the Lone Star State to ask patients about their immigration status in order to determine the cost of providing medical care to people living in the U.S. illegally.
Through an executive order, Abbott directed Texas hospitals to collect data on inpatient and emergency visits by immigrants living in the U.S. without authorization, as well as on the costs of providing medical services to this population.
Abbott told Texas Health and the Human Services Commission required hospitals to begin collecting information by Nov. 1 and provide regular reports to state authorities.
To justify the move, Abbott cited record levels worried about migrants on the US-Mexico border in recent years, admitting that Texas is shouldering the economic burden of providing medical services to migrants entering the country illegally.
“Because of the open border policies of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Texas will have to foot the bill for medical expenses for individuals illegally in the country,” Abbott said in a statement.
Abbott’s directive said hospitals must inform patients the collection of new information “will not affect patient care.” He noted in his order that federal law requires hospitals to provide emergency care to anyone, regardless of immigration status.
Still, Abbott’s order is likely to be rejected by immigration rights advocates, who say the same policy has had a dire effect on immigrants, who are unable to access medical care for fear of legal repercussions.
Democratic Rep. Sylvia Garcia of Texas condemned the order, accusing Abbott of “social engineering” and seeking “to make ICE officers out of doctors who provide medical care to immigrants.”
“People are allowed to care about whatever their citizenship is,” said Julia Gelatt, an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a non-partisan think tank in Washington. “But we know that asking can make people worry about immigration consequences and whether it’s safe to seek care.”
In his order, Abbott suggested Texas ask the federal government to reimburse the state for the cost, though it was unclear how, or if that would happen.
Thursday’s action by Texas is the latest example of a Republican-led state enacting stricter immigration laws and measures. Last year, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a tough immigration state law that, among other things, requires hospitals to collect information about patients’ immigration status.
Led by Texas, several red states have also passed laws that seek to criminalize illegal immigration at the state level and empower state officials to prosecute suspected violators. The state law has been challenged in federal court by the Justice Department, which has argued that immigration policy has long been the responsibility of the federal government.
Under Abbott’s direction, Texas has been installed aggressive political and legal challenges to the Biden administration on immigration. States, for example, have filed lawsuits against nearly every major immigration action by President Biden.
Abbott also ordered state officials to transport tens of thousands of migrants to Democratic-led cities, assigned the state National Guard to reinforce the banks of the Rio Grande with razor wire and ordered state troops to arrest migrants on trespassing charges.