Texas Governor Abbott is ordering hospitals to collect data on patients’ immigration status

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday ordered hospitals in the Lone Star State to ask patients about their immigration status to determine the cost of providing medical care to people living in the United States illegally.

By executive order, Abbott ordered Texas hospitals to compile data on inpatient discharges and emergency visits of immigrants living in the United States without permission, as well as on the cost of providing medical care to these residents.

Abbott directed the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to require hospitals to begin collecting the information Nov. 1 and provide regular reports to state officials.

The order applies to hospitals enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, as well as other health care facilities designated by the commission.

To justify the move, Abbott cited record highs migrant girl on the US-Mexico border in recent years, asserting that Texas bears the economic burden of providing medical care to migrants who enter the country illegally.

“Due to the open border policies of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Texas has had to pay the cost of medical expenses for individuals who are in the state illegally,” Abbott said in a statement.

Abbott’s order said hospitals should tell patients that the new data collection “will not affect patient care.” He noted in his order that federal law requires hospitals to provide emergency treatment to every person, regardless of immigration status.

Still, Abbott’s order is likely to be rejected by immigration advocates, who have said similar policies have had a chilling effect on immigrants, deterring them from accessing medical care for fear of legal repercussions.

Sylvia Garcia, a Democrat from Texas, condemned the order, accusing Abbott of “social engineering” and trying to “make ICE officers out of doctors who provide medical care to immigrants.”

“People are allowed to get care regardless of citizenship,” said Julia Gelatt, an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington. “But we know that asking questions can make people worry about the consequences of immigration and whether or not it’s safe to seek care.”

In his order, Abbott suggested Texas would seek to get the federal government to reimburse the state for those costs, though it’s unclear how, or if, that would happen.

Texas’ actions on Thursday are the latest example of Republican-led states enacting stricter immigration laws and measures. Last year, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed tough immigration laws that, among other things, require hospitals to collect information on patients’ immigration status.

Led by Texas, several red states have also passed laws that seek to punish unauthorized immigrants at the state level and give officials the power to prosecute suspected offenders. That state law has been challenged in federal court by the Justice Department, which has noted that immigration policy has long been the responsibility of the federal government.

Under Abbott’s guidance, Texas has emerged aggressive political and legal challenge to the Biden administration on immigration. For example, the state has filed lawsuits against almost all of President Biden’s major immigration actions.

Abbott has also ordered officials to move tens of thousands of migrants to Democratic-led cities, assigned the National Guard to reinforce the banks of the Rio Grande with razor wire and ordered state troopers to arrest migrants on trespassing charges.