With the recent US Supreme Court decision on "birthright citizenship," overturning President Donald Trump's executive order, it may be time to at least address the abuses of the system, according to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who has been calling for investigations.
The governor said on Tuesday that he's directed the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to investigate Mission Regional Medical Center, to see if it's profiting from gaming the system by offering or taking part in "birth packages to South Texas."
The hospital is in the city of Mission, just on the Texas border with Mexico, with Reynosa, Mexico, on the other side.
These relatively expensive birthing plans offer some luxurious amenities to go along with arrival in Texas, the intention of which is to give birth to a child in the United States, making that child a US citizen, after which both mother and child leave for their home countries.
The plans are part of a phenomenon called "birth tourism."
Governor Abbott calls it "an illegal practice that exploits the extraordinary hospitality that the United States and Texas offer to millions of foreign travelers each year.
"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."
It's a well-known and expensive practice in California, where investigators say it's also a billion-dollar industry patronized largely of Chinese women who fly into Los Angeles or San Francisco, stay in luxury hotels, give birth in private hospital rooms and then, following birth, return to China with their child -- giving the child automatic US citizenship.
It is theorized that the practice is aimed at bringing the children to China for indoctrination into the Chinese Communist Party with plans to return the child to America as a grownup.
It's not clear what the expectations for the child might be when he or she returns to the US, though espionage is suspected.
Under the directive, HHSC must immediately refer violations to the Attorney General for civil enforcement and to the appropriate District or County Attorney for criminal prosecution. HHSC will also impose administrative sanctions and penalties on Mission Regional Medical Center.
"This action reflects Governor Abbott’s ongoing commitment to protecting the integrity of American citizenship, upholding the rule of law, and ensuring that Texas institutions are not exploited by those seeking to circumvent legal immigration processes," the Governor's office said.