Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered hospitals to collect data on their patients’ immigration status, arguing that Texas must “foot the bill” for the Biden administration’s border policies.
According to the regulation, hospitals must compile statistics on patient discharges and emergency admissions of undocumented migrants, as well as on the costs of their treatment.
Opponents claim the order will lead to ethnic profiling and deter migrants from seeking help.
The order is the latest in a series of clashes between the federal government and Mr Abbott, a vocal critic of the Biden administration’s border policies.
Thursday’s order applies to all public hospitals and other health care providers designated by Texas authorities.
The data they collect must be recorded quarterly and submitted to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which in turn submits regular reports to state authorities.
“Due to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ open borders policies, Texas has had to cover the medical costs of individuals in the state illegally,” Abbott said in a statement.
“Texans should not have to bear the burden of financially supporting the health care of illegal immigrants,” he added.
Mr Abbott said the move would hold the Biden administration “accountable” for its “costly and dangerous” border policies.
The total potential costs of public health care for undocumented migrants are unclear.
In 2021 – the latest year for which data is available – the Teaching Hospitals of Texas calculated that “uncompensated charity care” cost the state’s hospitals around $7 billion (£5.49 billion).
However, these data do not include a breakdown of costs by nationality or immigration status.
Some immigration advocates immediately condemned Mr Abbott’s announcement.
Sylvia Garcia, a Democratic U.S. representative whose district includes part of Houston, called the order “social engineering.”
Garcia told CBS, the BBC’s US partner, that the order risked turning doctors into immigration officials.
Gabriel Rosales, Texas national director of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), said the order would lead to “racial profiling.”
“It will immediately intimidate the community, our immigrant community, and prevent them from getting the help they need,” he told Border Report. “It’s completely inappropriate.”
Abbott’s order says it will “not impact patient care,” but experts warn it could ultimately discourage migrants from seeking care when they need it.
“People are entitled to health care regardless of their citizenship,” Julia Gelatt, an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, told CBS.
“But we know that questions can raise concerns among people about the consequences of immigration and whether it is safe to seek treatment,” she added.
Under Mr. Abbott, Texas has repeatedly challenged the federal government on immigration issues, resulting in several legal battles.
These include transporting tens of thousands of migrants by bus to Democrat-run cities and building floating barriers along the Rio Grande to prevent migrants from crossing.
The number of illegal migrant crossings at the southern border of the United States has fallen for the fifth month in a row, according to official figures.
U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested around 57,000 migrants along the border in July – the fewest since September 2020.
