- Gov. Greg Abbott ordered an immediate probe of Mission Regional Medical Center after ads for “birth packages in South Texas” prompted allegations the hospital was courting birth tourism to secure U.S. citizenship for newborns.
- The hospital says it removed the maternity marketing, denies facilitating illegal activity and will cooperate; HHSC has referred the matter to its Office of Inspector General.
- The flap comes after a recent Supreme Court decision renewed GOP focus on birthright citizenship — though experts say birth tourism is rare (an estimated up to 26,000 U.S. births a year, under 1% of total births) and could spur further state or federal policy moves.
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