Plano, Texas — Governor Greg Abbott on Tuesday directed the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to open an immediate investigation of Mission Regional Medical Center, a South Texas hospital that state officials say marketed "birth packages" to foreign nationals seeking to give birth in the United States. The governor said the practice, known as birth tourism, exploits the country's hospitality and citizenship laws.
Plano, a North Texas suburb with a large international community and corporate presence, has long been shaped by global migration and cross-border travel, making state immigration-enforcement actions a frequent subject of local interest.
"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," said Governor Abbott.
