Last week, State Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) asked Gov. Greg Abbott to convene a special session to criminalize birth tourism, expand state enforcement authority, stop issuing birth certificates to children of illegal aliens, and pursue other measures aimed at curbing the practice, according to Texas Scorecard and other outlets.
In recent days, photos of a billboard in Mexico advertising "birth packages" through the website HaveMyBabyInTexas.com and promoting Mission Regional Medical Center circulated widely on social media, drawing renewed scrutiny to the issue.
In a letter sent Tuesday to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), Abbott ordered the agency to investigate Mission Regional Medical Center for potential violations of state law and contractual obligations after reports that the hospital advertised "Birth Packages in South Texas" in foreign countries.
Harrison said on AFR’s “Jenna Ellis in the Morning” that birth tourism should be made and needs to be a felony.
"Number one, we could criminalize birth tourism. There's no reason that we should allow businesses to operate for profit, to bring in people from adversarial nations, to give them transportation and lodging in healthcare,” says Harrison. “So that they can have a baby who's born here and literally never stepped foot, potentially on American soil, be flown out hours later, yet receive voting rights and U.S. citizenship. Birth tourism could be a state crime in Texas."
He said he wants the Stephanie Muth, executive commissioner of HHSC, to use her existing authority.
"To deny birth certificates to non-citizens and to illegal aliens. I think it's the absolute least that our voters could expect us to do. Unfortunately, so far, I'm the only elected official down here in Texas calling for this,” says Harrison. “I keep hoping, checking the phones and email every day to see if the governor or the executive secretary will respond and actually do something more than tweet."
