Texas Gov. Abbott orders hospitals to collect and send state data on patients’ immigration status

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed an executive order Thursday requiring hospitals to ask patients about their immigration status to help the state determine the cost of providing health care to noncitizens.

Beginning Nov. 1, Abbott is directing hospitals in Texas to gather data on “patients who are not lawfully present in the United States,” as well as the number of inpatient discharges and emergency visits and the costs of care.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission must provide regular reports to state authorities, the order said.

Abbott highlighted the influx of migrants at Texas’s border with Mexico. He said they impose burdens on the Texas health care system and increase “the costs of medical care for all Texans.”

“Due to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ open border policies, Texas has had to foot the bill for medical costs for individuals illegally in the state,” Abbott said in a statement.

Abbott said the state should not have to “shoulder the burden” of financially supporting medical care for noncitizens. The order suggests the state would look to the federal government to reimburse Texas for the medical expenses.

“That is why today I issued an Executive Order requiring healthcare costs for illegal immigrants in our state,” his statement said. “Texas will hold the Biden-Harris Administration accountable for the consequences for their open border policies, and we will fight to ensure that they pay back Texas for their costly and dangerous policies.”

In a statement reported by CBS News, Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), condemned the order and accused Abbott of trying to make “ICE officers out of doctors.”

The executive order is likely to be challenged by immigration rights advocates. The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.