Abbott Orders Investigation Into Mission Regional Birth Packages

Mission Regional Medical Center faces a state investigation over allegations that it marketed birth tourism packages to foreign nationals.

Governor Greg Abbott sent a letter Tuesday afternoon ordering the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to investigate the Mission hospital over reports that it advertised "birth packages" abroad. The directive targets whether the hospital profited from offering birth packages to South Texas and refers the matter directly to HHSC. Abbott called birth tourism an illegal practice that exploits the hospitality the United States and Texas extend to millions of travelers each year. He added that thousands of foreign visitors arrive under false pretenses to secure citizenship for their newborns.

A billboard translated into English advertises a vaginal birth package for $3,950 and a cesarean option for $5,525. Mission sits directly across the border from Reynosa, Mexico. The hospital also promoted maternity packages on its social media page since 2023, according to reporting from the Tennessee Star, with one post inviting expectant mothers abroad to reserve a maternity package for delivery in South Texas.

Birth tourism as a phenomenon predates this controversy by more than a decade. Miami Mama, one of the earliest firms organizing these trips, began arranging travel packages for Russian mothers in 2009. NBC News documented the trend in detail in 2018, describing Sunny Isles Beach, a Miami suburb, under nicknames including "Little Russia" and "Little Moscow" for its concentration of Russian-speaking businesses catering to that clientele. The Center for Immigration Studies, a group that advocates restricting immigration, estimated at the time that 36,000 babies are born in the United States to foreign nationals each year, though NBC noted the true figure could be substantially lower. Florida officials reported that births in the state to foreign nationals living abroad rose 200 percent since 2000.

Reporting from NBC News found that Trump-branded condominium buildings in Sunny Isles Beach became particularly popular among Russian birth tourists during that period, with companies advertising stays in Trump Towers as part of premium packages. One Miami firm, SVM-MED, offered a top-tier package priced at $84,700 that included a Trump Tower II unit and a chauffeured Escalade. NBC News reported no indication that Trump personally profited from these arrangements, since the condominium units were individually owned and subleased rather than managed directly by the Trump Organization. The Daily Beast, which first reported on Russian families staying in Trump-branded condos, noted that the company benefited indirectly through Russian patronage of the nearby Trump International Beach Resort.

President Trump has criticized birth tourism publicly throughout both his terms, and in 2020 his first administration issued a regulation still in effect today that allows consular officers to deny tourist visas to applicants suspected of traveling primarily to give birth in the United States. That rule shifted the burden onto pregnant travelers to prove otherwise before entry.

The Supreme Court ruled last week in Trump v. Barbara that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present remain citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment. That ruling closed off the executive order President Trump signed attempting to end birthright citizenship. Abbott's letter arrived days after that decision.

Mission Regional responded that it remains committed to complying with all applicable federal and state laws and does not support or facilitate unlawful activity. The hospital stated that its maternity marketing materials are no longer in use due to what it described as an unintended misunderstanding, and it said it intends to cooperate with local and state officials while continuing to provide patient care.

Under Abbott's directive, HHSC must refer any violations it finds to the Texas Attorney General for civil enforcement and to the appropriate district or county attorney for possible criminal prosecution. The agency is also instructed to pursue administrative sanctions and penalties against the hospital. Abbott's office said this action reflects the governor's commitment to protecting the integrity of American citizenship and ensuring Texas institutions are not exploited by people seeking to circumvent legal immigration processes.

Abbott's directive follows an earlier lawsuit filed by Attorney General Ken Paxton against a Houston-area birth tourism operation. That lawsuit alleges the operation helped more than 1,000 Chinese nationals travel to Texas to give birth so their children could obtain U.S. citizenship. Paxton has not commented on the Supreme Court ruling or on the new investigation into Mission Regional.

No federal agency tracks birth tourism nationally. The Center for Immigration Studies has since revised its own estimate downward to a range of 20,000 to 26,000 births per year. Solicitor General John Sauer told the Supreme Court this year that no reliable data exists to confirm how widespread the practice is.

Mission Regional's 2024 Community Health Needs Assessment identifies undocumented immigrants as a vulnerable population in the Rio Grande Valley, citing immigration laws, language barriers, transportation access, and lack of insurance as ongoing challenges for that population. The same hospital system now faces scrutiny for marketing maternity services to foreign nationals capable of paying in advance for delivery in South Texas.

Mission Regional has not confirmed whether any foreign nationals used the advertised packages or given birth at the facility under those terms.

@Santitos

@salinasmariasantos

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