Abbott orders probe after Texas hospital advertises 'birth packages' in Mexico: 'Citizenship is not for sale'

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered an investigation into a Texas hospital Tuesday after it confirmed to Fox News that it advertised Spanish-language "Birth Packages in South Texas" on billboards in Mexico promoting childbirth services to pregnant foreign nationals near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Mission Regional Medical Center confirmed to Fox News that it was responsible for the advertising campaign, which promoted deliveries starting at $3,950 for a natural birth and $5,525 for a C-section and directed viewers to a website, havemybabyinTEXAS.com, that has since been taken offline.

The billboards also displayed a telephone number beginning with "001," the country code used to place calls to the United States from Mexico.

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"The marketing materials regarding maternity services are no longer in use due to any unintended misunderstanding," a hospital spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News. "We do not support or facilitate any unlawful activity and work to comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations."

The spokesperson said the campaign included two billboards located within approximately five miles of the hospital near a U.S.-Mexico border crossing. The hospital said both billboards and the website were removed Monday after images began circulating on social media. The spokesperson also said the campaign began in 2021 but did not specify when the billboards were installed.

Abbott on Tuesday directed Texas Health and Human Services Commission Executive Commissioner Stephanie Muth to investigate Mission Regional Medical Center for potential violations of state law and contractual obligations.

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Images of the billboard circulated on social media before the hospital said it removed the advertisements Monday.

"Birth tourism' is an illegal practice that exploits the extraordinary hospitality that the United States and Texas offer to millions of foreign travelers each year," Abbott wrote in a July 7 letter obtained by Fox News. "Unfortunately, thousands of foreign travelers come to the United States under false pretenses to give birth and secure citizenship for their children."

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Abbott directed HHSC to "immediately and thoroughly investigate" the hospital and said any violations should be referred to the Texas Attorney General for civil enforcement and to the appropriate district or county attorney for potential criminal prosecution.

"American citizenship is not for sale and Texas will not permit our healthcare system to be used as a magnet for birth tourism," Abbott wrote.

The governor also said he plans to work with the Texas Legislature during its next session "to strengthen state law and eliminate birth tourism in Texas."

"Unfortunately, birth tourism operations are not a new phenomenon," General Counsel of the Oversight Project Kyle Brosnan said to Fox News Digital in a statement. "The Supreme Court’s egregiously wrong decision in the birthright citizenship case is going to open the floodgates to the birth tourism industry. Our country is much more than a pile of magic dirt. The only answer to these type of practices are criminal investigations and the mass deportation of illegal aliens."

Mission Regional Medical Center also said it intends to cooperate with state officials.

"We intend to work cooperatively and transparently with local and state officials," the hospital said in a statement obtained by Fox News. "Our focus remains on delivering safe, high-quality care to every patient who seeks our services."

The investigation comes as President Donald Trump's executive order seeking to limit automatic birthright citizenship for some children born in the United States remains the subject of ongoing legal challenges.