TEXAS GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT WEAPONIZES EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY AGAINST PRIVATE PARTIES TO FURTHER HIS ANTI-IMMIGRANT AGENDA
San Antonio, TX — In response to Governor Greg Abbott’s August 8, 2024, executive order directing Texas hospitals to report patient immigration status, RAICES, the largest immigration legal services provider in Texas, released the following statement:
Despite his directive to provide care in accordance with federal law, Governor Abbott’s executive order imposes an unconscionable barrier to healthcare and forces hospitals to stoke fear of medical interventions among immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking people and families.
The executive order is not simply another policy under the failed Operation Lone Star, which has cost Texans more than $11 billion to date—and counting. In fact, it marks an alarming escalation of Governor Abbott’s anti-immigrant agenda, wielding the power of executive action on private parties and bypassing the legislature completely.
“Governor Abbott is far from concerned about taxpayer dollars and the people of Texas,” says Faisal Al-Juburi, spokesperson for RAICES. “In 2022 alone, undocumented Texans paid $4.9 billion in state and local taxes, second only to California. This executive order is an extraordinary escalation of the tactics he will use to feed racist ideologies and only threatens to destabilize the economic prosperity of Texas by further disenfranchising a critical part of our community.”
Dolores K. Schroeder, CEO of RAICES, added, “Governor Abbott is once again creating constructs rife for racial profiling, likely pushing healthcare professionals to assume a patient's immigration status—thereby perpetuating stereotypes and stigmas. This executive order demonstrates that Governor Abbott does not feel constrained by normal legislative processes.”
RAICES immigration experts are available for further comments on this developing story.
RAICES, formally known as the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Headquartered in Texas and with national reach, RAICES promotes migrant justice by providing legal services, social services case management, and rights advocacy for immigrant,refugee, and asylum-seeking people and families. Learn more at raicestexas.org and follow us on Instagram.
