Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered an investigation into a hospital accused of marketing birth tourism packages to foreign nationals. Here's what it means for travelers.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed the state’s health regulators to investigate a South Texas medical center that he says has been marketing birth packages to foreign nationals to have their babies in Texas, which would give them U.S. citizenship.
Governor Abbott directed the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to investigate claims that Mission Regional Medical Center had marketed birth packages outside the United States. The letter describes “birth tourism” as an illegal practice, but does not cite any federal or state laws that it violates. The letter directs the HHSC to review whether Mission Regional Medical Center has violated any state law or contractual obligation, and refer their findings to the state’s Attorney General, and take administrative actions such as sanctions or penalties.
“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,” Governor Abbott said in a statement. “Thousands of foreign travelers come to the United States under false pretenses to give birth and secure citizenship for their children. HHSC must investigate the hospital, a facility it regulates, for any violations of state law and contractual obligations.”
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The complaint appears related to the website HaveMyBabyInTexas.com, which was taken down shortly after the letter was issued. An archived copy of the website, which was only available in Spanish, offered birth packages that appeared to focus on quality of care, including private labor and postpartum rooms. A photo of a billboard from the same company, situated in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, went viral earlier this year
Mission Regional Medical Center shared a statement in response to Governor Abbott’s letter, reading: “Mission Regional Medical Center is committed to providing high-quality, compassionate healthcare and expanding access to care for the communities we serve. Like hospitals across the country and throughout the region, we share information about the healthcare services we provide. We do not support or facilitate any unlawful activity and work to comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations. The 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.”
State governments have limited means to directly enforce prohibitions on birth tourism. Immigration law is enforced by the federal government, but the Texas state government can place restrictions on how businesses operate and are licensed and reviewed. State governments can also choose how closely to cooperate with the federal government in enforcing federal laws.
Entering the United States solely for the purpose of giving birth has long been prohibited in practice and explicitly forbidden in State Department policies since 2020. Before the State Department issued the rule, pregnant travelers entering on various non-immigrant visa types were more thoroughly scrutinized and denied entry if Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers felt they had misrepresented their intent on their visa applications. Non-US nationals from countries participating in the visa waiver program must also declare their reason for visiting when entering the country.
In short, giving birth while in the U.S. isn’t a violation of the rules, but traveling to the US for the sole purpose of giving birth and lying about it is.
In April, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against a Houston-area postpartum care center that he says was an unlawful birth tourism business. The lawsuit pointed to web advertisements and TikTok videos coaching Chinese nationals on entering the United States for the sole purpose of giving birth, and how to navigate US immigration procedures for themselves and their children.
In that lawsuit, Paxton refers to the 14th Amendment of the Constitution as “incorrectly applied to grant birthright citizenship”. On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the 14th Amendment’s right to citizenship to all people born in the United States in a 6-3 vote.
Governor Abbott was quick to condemn the ruling, calling it a “missed opportunity to restore the original meaning of the 14th Amendment,” in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “Automatic citizenship for children born to parents in the United States illegally or only temporarily is an absurdity that was never contemplated by our Constitution nor agreed to by the American people,” he continued.
While there are a number of reasons a foreign national would give birth in Texas without intending to, such as emergencies or higher standards of care for complicated deliveries. Texas often ranks near the bottom among U.S. states for overall health outcomes in women’s reproductive care.