Abbott directs healthcare, regulatory agencies to target birth tourism in Texas

Gov. Greg Abbott is continuing to take action against birth tourism in Texas. On Tuesday, he took his third action in three weeks, issuing an executive order directing five state agencies to take action. The order issues directives to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), HHSC Office of Inspector General, Texas Medical Board, Texas Board of Nursing and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. "Texas will not tolerate the exploitation of our immigration laws by individuals traveling to the United States illegally or under false pretenses to give birth and secure citizenship for their child," Abbott said in a statement. The order directs the agencies "to investigate birth tourism schemes and hold accountable any provider that facilitates this fraud. "U.S. citizenship is not for sale, and Texas will put a stop to individuals seeking to profit from birth tourism." He issued the directives after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in late June that the 14th Amendment citizenship clause applies to children born in the U.S. after the mother illegally enters the country. In response, Abbott and others warned the ruling would facilitate criminal activity, including birth tourism. "Birth tourism" criminal networks orchestrate illegal entry and visa fraud to facilitate foreign national women giving birth in the U.S. and are also connected to extensive welfare fraud, investigators have found. Prosecutions span from California to Texas to the Northern Mariana Islands. Within a week of the high court's ruling, Abbott first directed HHSC to investigate a facility at the Texas-Mexico border, Mission Regional Medical Center, for advertising "birth packages in south Texas" to women overseas. The advertisements targeted foreign national women, encouraging them to come to the center to give birth and allegedly involved a profit scheme related to securing U.S. citizenship, Abbott argued. The facility acknowledged in an email to The Center Square that its "marketing materials regarding maternity services are no longer in use due to any unintended misunderstanding. We intend to work cooperatively and transparently with local and state officials. Our focus remains on delivering safe, high-quality care to every patient who seeks our services." Within a week of Abbott's directive, HHSC referred two agencies to the Office of Attorney General to launch a criminal investigation. One was the Mission center; the other was Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco. Knapp did not respond to requests for comment. Both facilities are located at the US-Mexico border. They are also both affiliated with the Prime Healthcare Foundation. Although the website listed on the Mission center's billboard, 'havemybabyinTEXAS.com,' appears to have been taken down, "an archived version remains available online and identifies the two Texas hospitals," HHSC said, The Center Square reported. One week after HHSC's criminal referral, Abbott issued Tuesday's order directing the five state agencies to take action. The order states that the two Texas hospitals "allegedly placed billboards in a foreign country advertising birth packages in South Texas for fixed prices starting as low as $3,950 and directed viewers to a website soliciting patients to engage in medical birthing services." The order directs DSHS, HHSC, OIG, TMB, BON and TDLR to investigate claims of birth tourism schemes within the Texas healthcare industry. It directs them to investigate "licensed or regulated individuals and entities that are advertising, soliciting, engaging in, assisting with, providing, or otherwise participating in" birth tourism activities. It also directs them to revoke or suspend licenses, to prohibit participation and state contracts, deny state benefits or take other enforcement actions. It also directs them to make criminal referrals for prosecution when identifying examples of alleged fraud. The governor's office is encouraging members of the public to report any birth tourism ads or potential immigration-related healthcare fraud to the HHSC Office of Inspector General and to the Department of Justice.