Abbott: Hospitals Must Ask About Immigration Status

CBS News reports:

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday ordered hospitals in the Lone Star State to ask patients about their immigration status in order to ascertain the costs of providing medical care to people living in the U.S. illegally. Through an executive order, Abbott directed Texas hospitals to compile data on inpatient discharges and emergency visits by immigrants living in the U.S. without authorization, as well as on the costs of providing medical services to this population.

Abbott’s order is likely to be decried by immigration rights advocates, who have said similar policies have had a chilling effect on immigrants, discouraging them from accessing medical care out of fear of legal repercussions. Democrat Rep. Sylvia Garcia of Texas condemned the order, accusing Abbott of “social engineering” and seeking “to make ICE officers out of doctors providing immigrants with medical care.”

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Texas Gov. Abbott instructs hospitals to collect data on patients’ immigration status https://t.co/UR4QzdKpsY

— CBS News Texas (@CBSNewsTexas) August 9, 2024