On Thursday, Governor Greg Abbott issued a new executive order focused on migrants and medical care. The order requires public hospitals to collect information about the immigration status of their patients.
According to him, Governor Abbott wants the federal government to reimburse the state of Texas for the migrants’ hospital costs. Executive Order GA 46 requires state hospitals to collect data on inpatient discharges and emergency room visits.
“Why should hard-working Texans have to pay these health care costs for the Biden-Harris administration’s open borders policies?” said Rep. Briscoe Cain.
Governor Abbott is using the order to track how much the state has spent on migrant health care so the bill can be sent to the federal government.
“TThis is being paid for by Texas taxpayers. However, it is time for the federal government to reimburse the State of Texas for these costs,” said Representative Cain.
This step comes against the backdrop of more and more politicians drawing attention to the influx of immigrants across the border.
“It’s pretty vague. It’s like, ‘Hey, let’s just get the data.’ But then what do you do with the data?” says Gabriel Rosales, LULAC’s Texas state director.
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) described the decree as “political rhetoric” by the governor and the Republican Party.
RELATED: Governor Abbott calls on Texas hospitals to report costs related to undocumented immigrants
“However, the federal government subsidizes and supplements much of the medical costs at the local and state level,” said Sergio Lira, president of Greater Houston LULAC.
LULAC officials said the executive order could prevent some immigrants from getting the medical care they need.
“This just creates unnecessary fear. They need to create a path to citizenship,” Rosales said.
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The new regulation will come into force on November 1. The first annual report is expected to be available in 2026.
