Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order on Aug. 8 requiring that hospitals collect data on patients living illegally in the United States and report the costs of medical services provided to them.
In a statement, Abbott said he aims to collect data on illegal immigrants who use public hospitals so that Texas can seek reimbursement from the federal government for their medical expenses.
“Texas will hold the Biden-Harris Administration accountable for the consequences of their open border policies, and we will fight to ensure that they pay back Texas for their costly and dangerous policies,” the Republican governor stated.
Under the executive order, Texas hospitals are required to collect data on inpatient discharges and emergency visits by illegal immigrants, as well as the costs of medical services provided to them, starting on Nov. 1.
Hospitals will need to report the information to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) by March 1, 2025, and continue reporting data on a quarterly basis.
The executive order also requires that hospitals inform patients that, under federal law, their responses to questions about their immigrant status will not affect patient care.
It stated that HHSC will need to report annually to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the House speaker on the preceding year’s costs for medical care provided to illegal immigrants starting Jan. 1, 2026.
Abbott said that people in Texas should not have to “shoulder the burden” of financially supporting medical care for illegal immigrants.
The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House for comment.
The Texas Hospital Association (THA), representing over 85 percent of the state’s acute-care hospitals and health care systems, said that it is reviewing Abbott’s executive order “as quickly as possible.”
“Right now, hospitals don’t ask about patient immigration status as a condition of treatment,” THA said in a statement.
“Hospitals are required by law to provide life-saving treatment to anyone, regardless of ability to pay or status.”
More than 1,000 illegal immigrants wait in line to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Dec. 18, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Texas has seen a 74 percent decrease in illegal border crossings since the launch of the state’s border security mission, dubbed Operation Lone Star, in March 2021, the governor’s office stated on June 14.
As part of the initiative, state authorities have deployed floating border barriers, installed wire fencing, and used the Texas National Guard to stem the flow of illegal immigrants.
According to the statement, the multi-agency effort has led to over 513,700 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 44,000 criminal arrests, with more than 38,600 felony charges so far.
The Texas governor criticized President Joe Biden’s recent executive actions, announced by the White House in June, stating that they “will do little to stem the flow of illegal immigration into the country.”
“As long as the Biden Administration refuses to provide any type of enforcement, any type of blockage, of people crossing illegally, all that this new Biden policy is going to do is to actually attract and invite even more people to cross the border illegally,” Abbott said in the statement.
According to a White House fact sheet published on June 4, the executive orders will bar illegal immigrants from receiving asylum when border officials deem illegal border crossings are at “high levels.”
“This ban will remain in place until the number of people trying to enter illegally is reduced to a level that our system can effectively manage,” Biden said at a news conference on June 4.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded more than 1.44 million encounters with people trying to enter the United States nationwide as of June 2024.
