Texas doctor encourages illegal alien patients to skip citizenship question — Abbott warns hospital he’ll pull funding

Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) threatened to pull state funding from a local hospital last week after one of its doctors encouraged patients to defy his executive order regarding citizenship.

Dr. Tony Pastor, a cardiologist at Texas Children's Hospital and assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, posted a video on TikTok on November 11 that was viewed more than 1 million times before it was deleted.

'There will be consequences.'

In the video, Pastor told his followers that he and his colleagues at the hospital had been informed that patients could skip an intake form question inquiring about their citizenship status.

Pastor said, "So my proposal to everyone who's seeing this is, just know that you do not have to answer this question."

Abbott responded to Pastor's statements on November 24, warning the hospital that the doctor was "putting [its] Medicaid & Medicare funding at risk."

"[You] better think twice & have crystal clear records. There will be consequences for failing to follow the law in the Order," Abbott wrote.

Pastor posted additional videos on TikTok addressing the governor's response.

He captioned one video, writing, "When the gov of Texas threatens you on twitter because he is mad you exercised freedom of speech."

Pastor stated in another video, "This new law that's asking hospitals for immigration status is under the guise of trying to get data on how much money we're spending on undocumented patients."

"The reason I have an issue with that is that if you really, truly cared about patients and spending, and both, in Texas, then why are we one of 10 states that has not accepted Medicaid expansion?" Pastor continued.

Texas Children's Hospital has vowed to cooperate with Abbott's executive order.

"Texas Children's fully supports Governor Abbott's new Executive Order and is in full compliance," it stated. "We have worked closely with the Texas Hospital Association and our industry partners across the state to ensure compliance in advance of the effective date."

The hospital's statement continued, "While we recognize that individuals working at Texas Children's hold their own personal views on many topics, those opinions do not necessarily reflect the official position of Texas Children's Hospital. We will continue to prioritize patient care while ensuring we are in full compliance with all laws and legal directives."

The governor's executive order went into effect on November 1, requiring hospitals receiving Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Plan to add "Are you a U.S. citizen?" to intake forms.

Abbott, who issued the order in August, stated that it would allow Texas to track how much the state's taxpayers are spending on care for illegal aliens due to the current administration's open-border policies.

"Due to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' open border policies, Texas has had to foot the bill for medical costs for individuals illegally in the state," Abbott stated. "Texans should not have to shoulder the burden of financially supporting medical care for illegal immigrants."

"Texas will hold the Biden-Harris Administration accountable for the consequences of their open border policies, and we will fight to ensure that they pay back Texas for their costly and dangerous policies," he declared.

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