ANTI-IMMIGRANT TEXAS EXECUTIVE ORDER REQUIRING HOSPITALS TO TURN OVER DATA OF UNDOCUMENTED PATIENTS GOES INTO EFFECT TODAY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 1, 2024

Contact: media@texascivilrightsproject.org 

AUSTIN, TEXAS - Today, Executive Order GA-46 issued by Governor Greg Abbott in August, goes into effect. The Executive Order requires the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC)  to direct public hospitals in the state to collect demographic information from patients about their legal status. The order also directs hospitals to collect and report back to HHSC the healthcare costs that those undocumented patients incur. 

In response to the effective date of Executive Order GA-46, Kassandra Gonzalez (she/her), Staff Attorney, Beyond Borders Program, Texas Civil Rights Project, issued the following statement:

“Governor Abbott’s Executive Order GA-46 is just another anti-immigrant policy aimed at inciting fear in our community. Now in effect, this order could discourage migrants from seeking emergency medical care due to fear of being questioned about their immigration status. It will also have negative impacts on their health, and it violates the trust they have with their healthcare providers. People’s private medical information should be maintained between them and their healthcare provider, not the state. Everyone, especially those in need of urgent medical care, should be able to access hospitals without fear–regardless of their immigration status. The Texas Civil Rights Project will continue to advocate against this and all anti-immigrant policies and ensure that vulnerable communities are aware of their right to decline to answer questions about immigration status from their healthcare providers.”

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About Texas Civil Rights Project

The Texas Civil Rights Project is boldly serving the movement for equality and justice in and out of the courts. We use our tools of litigation and legal advocacy to protect and advance the civil rights of everyone in Texas, and we partner with communities across the state to serve the rising movement for social justice. We undertake our work with a vision of a Texas in which all communities can thrive with dignity, justice and without fear.