Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order Thursday afternoon directing public hospitals in Texas to begin reporting medical expenses for illegal immigrants.
meanwhile Abbot’s Orders While the proclamation targets people entering the U.S. illegally under the Biden-Harris administration, it also applies to the estimated 52,000 El Paso residents who make up the county’s illegal immigrant population, many of whom have lived in El Paso for years and pay property taxes that support UMC.
The order is inconsistent with guidelines from the Texas Department of State Health Services. Healthcare professionals should not ask for information about immigration statusThe federal government does not require health care providers to collect immigration status from patients.
Governor Abbott’s order applies to El Paso University Medical Center and the children’s hospital it owns.
“We are aware of the executive order issued by Governor Abbott today, and we will review it with our team to fully understand its implications and requirements,” UMC spokesman Ryan Mielke said in a statement.
Dr. Brian Elmore, an emergency medicine resident at the University of Maryland Medical Center, said Abbott’s order doesn’t make sense: Most of the migrant patients he treats are in the U.S. legally because they’ve already been processed by border patrol agents and are awaiting immigration hearings, he said.
Many of UMC’s patients also commute from Ciudad Juarez, he added.
“Are we going to have to check their visas now?” Elmore asked. “Is he (Abbott) effectively appointing the hospital people as immigration agents?”
“We are also concerned that information collected on behalf of the state could be used for nefarious purposes in the context of Mr Abbott’s attempt to criminalise humanitarian aid in the attack on Annunciation House,” Elmore said.
Fernando Garcia, executive director of the El Paso-based Border Human Rights Network, said in a statement that Governor Abbott was “using immigrants as scapegoats for failed policies and political grievances to paint a one-sided picture of the reality at the border and in Texas.”
At the volunteer-run clinic, minor aches and pains can be treated, but more serious conditions such as broken bones can be treated at the clinic. Falling off the border wall He will require hospitalization due to injuries sustained during a high-speed pursuit with Texas DPS.
Garcia noted that some of the injuries people are seeking treatment for occurred under Abbott’s Operation Lone Star. Texas National Guard sets up barbed wire The incident at the border left a migrant injured. Pepper balls were fired at immigrantscausing welts and bruising.
“This executive order is nothing less than a draining policy that will result in undocumented immigrants fearful of accessing health care and is a brazen attempt to make Texas a hostile place for our communities,” Garcia said.
Governor Abbott’s order only applies to public hospitals and does not affect private hospitals.
Undocumented immigrants cannot get government health insurance, and UMC is El Paso’s only public hospital, providing care to uninsured immigrants and asylum seekers, as well as undocumented immigrants who have been in the El Paso area for long periods of time.
Starting November 1, public hospitals will have to collect fees for hospital and emergency care provided to illegal immigrants.
Hospitals will report this data quarterly to the Texas Department of Healthcare Services and, starting Jan. 1, 2026, will be required to submit annual cost reports to the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the house.
The order directs hospitals to inform patients that the information they collect will not affect their care, as required by federal law.
In a press release, Governor Abbott said Texans should not be responsible for financially supporting the medical costs of illegal immigrants.
“Texas intends to hold the Biden-Harris Administration accountable for the consequences of their open border policies, and we will fight to ensure they reimburse Texas for their costly and dangerous policies,” he said in a statement.
It’s unclear if and how Texas will be reimbursed, though the order says the federal government “may or should be obligated to reimburse the State of Texas for the costs.”
Marisa Limon Garza, executive director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso, said Governor Abbott’s actions are “part of a larger pattern of xenophobia and racism that we must condemn.”
“Instead of taking steps to improve access to appropriate health care for all Texans, Governor Abbott is wasting time and resources by directing medical staff to focus on the conditions of those receiving his care, proving once again that the Governor is comfortable blaming immigrants for public service failures across Texas,” she said in an email to El Paso Matters.
6:20 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8. This article has been updated with comments from Marisa Limon Garza, executive director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso, and Dr. Brian Elmore, an emergency medicine resident.
