Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday ordered Texas hospitals to collect and report data on how much money they spend to treat illegal immigrants, US media reported.
The Republican governor said his goal is to get a full accounting of spending so Texas can seek reimbursement from the federal government. Hospitals must begin collecting the information by November and will provide it quarterly to the state starting next year, with a full report to top officials in 2026. Mr. Abbott said:
Texans should not have to shoulder the burden of financially supporting medical care for illegal immigrants.
The costs of illegal immigration are hotly debated but difficult to quantify. Schools are required to provide education to all children, regardless of legal status, and hospitals are required to provide emergency care without regard to status.
For medical care, illegal immigrants often can’t pay, and hospitals pick up the cost, shifting it to other patients. Immigrant rights campaigners have complained about attempts to monitor illegal immigrants’ use of services, saying it discourages them from using them.
Mr. Abbott told hospitals to reassure patients that their status does not affect their treatment.
Texas’ migration problem
The migration problem and Texas’ confrontation with the presidential administration escalated in March 2021, when Governor Greg Abbott initiated an operation not coordinated with the central authorities to prevent migrants and drugs from entering the state. The US Justice Department attempted to challenge in court the installation by Texas authorities of barbed wire and floating fences on the Rio Grande River separating the US and Mexico.
The US Supreme Court sided with the federal administration on 1 February, but Abbott not only disobeyed, but ordered the Texas National Guard to install new fences, take control of a four-kilometre stretch of the border near the town of Eagle Pass and prevent federal agents from entering. The situation on the border remains tense. Several Republican governors of several states have sent their National Guardsmen to assist Abbott.
