Florida hospitals ask immigrants about their legal status. Texas will try it next

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Texas hospitals who are enrolled in state health plans, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program will start asking patients’ immigration status in November. Florida has had a similar law since 2023. Neither state will report immigration status answers to law enforcement. Doctors and advocate groups in Florida say people were scared to get treatment at hospitals and clinics but that the fear is subsiding thanks to education campaigns telling people they don’t have to provide their status. A Florida state report shows between 7-8% of people declined to give their status and fewer than 1% said they were in the U.S. without legal permission.