Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott has ordered a state investigation into Mission Regional Medical Center, a hospital near the Texas-Mexico border, after accusing it of advertising maternity packages overseas to attract foreign nationals seeking U.S. citizenship for their children.
In a letter sent to Texas Health and Human Services Commission Executive Commissioner Stephanie Muth on Tuesday, Abbott stated that the hospital advertised “BIRTH PACKAGES IN SOUTH TEXAS” in foreign countries with the apparent intent of profiting from securing United States citizenship for their children.
Abbott instructed the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to determine whether the hospital had violated state law or contractual obligations.
“Birth tourism is an illegal practice that exploits the extraordinary hospitality that the United States and Texas offer to millions of foreign travelers each year,” Abbott stated in a public declaration. “Thousands of foreign travelers enter the United States under false pretenses to give birth and secure citizenship for their children. The HHSC must investigate the hospital, a facility it regulates, for any violations of state law and contractual obligations.”
Mission Regional Medical Center denied engaging in any unlawful activity and stated that it has removed the promotional materials in question.
“The hospital does not support or facilitate any unlawful activity and is committed to complying with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations,” a hospital spokesperson said. “The marketing materials regarding maternity services are no longer in use due to an unintended misunderstanding. We intend to work cooperatively and transparently with local and state officials, and our focus remains on delivering safe, high-quality care to every patient.”
The public nonprofit hospital is regulated by the HHSC and located in Mission, Texas, just north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
A HHSC spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday that the agency is working “to immediately implement” Abbott’s directive and has referred the matter to the Texas Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
Abbott further stated that he intends to collaborate with the Texas Legislature to strengthen state law and eliminate birth tourism within Texas.
“American citizenship is not for sale, and Texas will not allow its healthcare system to be exploited as a magnet for birth tourism,” he emphasized in his statement.
This investigation follows renewed Republican efforts to address birth tourism after last week’s Supreme Court ruling that invalidated the Trump administration’s attempt to limit birthright citizenship.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller stated in an interview that the administration might consider restricting the entry of pregnant foreign nationals into the United States.
“You must now think very carefully about who you allow into your country, even on a temporary basis, due to the possibility of birth tourism,” Miller remarked.
Birth tourism—a practice in which foreign nationals travel to another country to give birth—accounts for a small percentage of U.S. births.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, up to 26,000 children born annually in the United States could be linked to this practice, representing less than 1% of the nation’s over 3.5 million births each year.
