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Texas Gov. Abbott orders probe into Birth tourism schemes
State regulators may revoke licenses and coordinate with federal prosecutors under the order.
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Malvika Choudhary - Tue, 21, Jul 2026
- 18:21 EDT
- 41
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. / X/@GregAbbott_TX
Texas Governor Greg Abbott on July 21 ordered state agencies to investigate alleged birth tourism schemes and pursue enforcement against those found to be facilitating them.
The executive order directs the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Department of State Health Services, Office of Inspector General, Texas Medical Board, Texas Board of Nursing and Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation to investigate complaints involving birth tourism in the state's healthcare industry.
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In a post on X, Abbott said individuals were traveling to the United States illegally to give birth and obtain citizenship for their children. "That's fraud," he wrote. "U.S. citizenship is not for sale."
Agencies are instructed to take action against licensed or regulated individuals and entities that advertise, solicit, assist with or otherwise participate in such schemes.
Individuals are traveling to the U.S. illegally to give birth and secure citizenship for their child. That's fraud.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 21, 2026
I issued an executive order directing state agencies to investigate these birth tourism schemes and hold every provider that facilitates them accountable.
U.S.… pic.twitter.com/F0a6Ptgla9
The order authorizes penalties including the suspension or revocation of professional licenses, exclusion from state contracts, denial of state benefits and other enforcement actions. It also allows state agencies, subject to the governor's approval, to work with federal prosecutors by sharing information and referring potential violations of federal law.
The order expands Abbott's broader crackdown on alleged birth tourism operations. Earlier this month, he directed an investigation into South Texas hospitals that advertised maternity "birth packages" to foreign nationals.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission later referred evidence involving two hospitals to Attorney General Ken Paxton after identifying what it described as a potential birth tourism scheme. In April, Paxton sued a Houston-area postpartum care center, alleging it unlawfully facilitated birth tourism for foreign nationals.
The move comes weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship to children born in the United States, regardless of their parents' immigration status.
Abbott has since focused on enforcement against what his administration describes as birth tourism schemes rather than challenging the constitutional guarantee itself.
The executive order takes effect immediately and remains in force until it is modified, amended, rescinded, or superseded by the governor.
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