Gov. Greg Abbott is at it again with another anti-immigrant stunt. This time he is endangering the health and well-being of immigrants in need of acute medical care. On Aug. 8, Abbott issued an executive order in which he has directed Texas hospitals to begin collecting data on the cost of medical care for undocumented immigrants. By Nov. 1, 2024, state hospitals will need to ascertain the citizen status of patients. This places hospital administrators with the responsibility of gathering the immigrant status of their patients, which will be an overwhelming bureaucratic nightmare. Hospitals are already overburdened with massive paperwork involving patient medical histories, financial status, and insurance coverage and claims, including Medicare and Medicaid coverage. Now hospitals will have to conduct inquiries that legally fall under the purview of the federal government and not the hospital industry. Hospitals are required, and rightfully so, to provide emergency treatment for all patients, regardless of citizen status.