Illegal aliens visited Tarrant County emergency rooms 5,545 times between November and February, generating $28 million in hospital costs, according to the Fort Worth Report.
Most of the costs fell on public hospitals. JPS Health Network reported more than $15 million in services provided to illegal alien patients, with 2,447 visits. Cook Children’s Medical Center followed with 536, and Texas Health Arlington had 488. Federal law requires hospitals to provide emergency care regardless of immigration status.
Most visits involved chronic health problems that doctors told the Fort Worth Report could have been resolved earlier.
Gov. Greg Abbott ordered hospitals last year to begin reporting illegal alien healthcare costs, signing an executive order requiring transparency.
“Texans should not have to shoulder the burden of financially supporting medical care for illegal immigrants,” Abbott said at the time. “That is why today I issued an Executive Order requiring the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to collect and report healthcare costs for illegal immigrants in our state. Texas will hold the Biden-Harris Administration accountable for the consequences of their open border policies, and we will fight to ensure that they pay back Texas for their costly and dangerous policies.”
National figures show the burden is not unique to Tarrant County. The Federation for American Immigration Reform estimates illegal aliens cost taxpayers more than $100 billion annually. Texas ranks among the top states, along with California, New York, Florida, New Jersey, and Illinois.
The issue has fueled political battles in Washington. In July, the Trump administration announced plans to restrict access to community health centers, Head Start programs, and other federally funded benefits for illegal aliens.
“For too long, the government has diverted hardworking Americans’ tax dollars to incentivize illegal immigration,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “Today’s action changes that—it restores integrity to federal social programs, enforces the rule of law, and protects vital resources for the American people.”
The Dallas Express reached out to Victor Avila, assistant director of external and legislative affairs for the Executive Office of the President, and FAIR for comment, but did not receive a response.