Texas public hospitals now must ask patients if they are in US legally
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images
(HOUSTON) — Public hospitals in Texas will now be required to ask patients if they are in the U.S. legally and keep a record of the funds spent on illegal migrants after an executive order went into effect Friday.
Public hospitals are required to collect information regarding the “cost of medical care provided to illegal immigrants,” the number of inpatient discharges and the number of emergency visits, then submit that data to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission on a quarterly basis, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote in an August statement announcing the measure.
While facilities must ask patients of their legal status, patients are not required to respond.
The new policy will also be enforced at hospitals enrolled in Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and any other facilities identified by the commission.
The first submission is due on March 1, 2025, according to the governor’s office. The commission will then submit the total cost for medical care provided to illegal migrants to the governor, lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house on an annual basis beginning on Jan. 1, 2026.
Patients are to be told that the collection of this information will not affect patient care, according to the executive order. Federal law mandates patients be told their answers will not affect their medical care.
The executive order also states that the federal government “may and should be obligated to reimburse the state of Texas for the costs that its open border policies have imposed on Texans.”
“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 said in the statement, though migrant encounters at the border began rising while Donald Trump was president in the months after April 2020 through the November election. “Texans should not have to shoulder the burden of financially supporting medical care for illegal immigrants.”
Immigration advocacy groups condemned the action as it went into place Friday.
“Abbott’s latest executive order — which takes effect today and goes against federal law — is a calculated attempt to drive immigrants into the shadows and make our communities fearful of being targeted in the very places we should feel safe. Going after immigrants in hospitals is just the first step towards enacting Trump’s Project 2025 agenda,” said Michelle Ming, political director of United We Dream Action, an advocacy group for immigrants.
ABC News’ Armando Garcia contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — The judge in former President Donald Trump’s criminal hush money case has delayed his sentencing from Sept. 18 until Nov. 26 — after the presidential election.
The decision, issued in a court filing Friday, means Trump will not face consequences for falsifying business records related to a hush payment to Stormy Daniels before voters choose the next president.
Judge Juan Merchan also said he would now rule on Trump’s motion to set aside the verdict on Nov. 12.
Trump is seeking to have the case dismissed on the grounds of presidential immunity, after the Supreme Court ruled in blockbuster decision that Trump is entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts undertaken while in office.
“The public’s confidence in the integrity of our judicial system demands a sentencing hearing that is entirely focused on the verdict of the jury and the weighing of aggravating and mitigating factors free from distraction or distortion,” Merchan wrote in his ruling Friday. “The members of this jury served diligently on this case, and their verdict must be respected and addressed in a manner that is not diluted by the enormity of the upcoming presidential election.”
Merchan appeared to arrive at the decision reluctantly, ruling that sentencing would be “adjourned to avoid any appearance — however unwarranted — that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching Presidential election in which the Defendant is a candidate.”
Merchan’s opinion noted that any conflict was of Trump’s own making as the former president repeatedly sought to delay the proceedings.
“Notably, had Defendant been sentenced on July 11, 2024, as originally scheduled, there would of course have been no cause for delay,” the judge wrote.
Merchan also chided Trump for attempting to bolster his argument with “a litany of perceived and unsubstantiated grievances from previous filings that do not merit this Court’s attention.”
Trump was found guilty in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
He has denied all wrongdoing and has said he will appeal the decision.
Mohamed Bahi, who resigned Monday from his job in the Adams administration, was arrested Tuesday for obstructing the investigation into the mayor and his campaign.
Bahi is charged with witness tampering and destroying evidence.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW JERSEY) — Bear hunting season has begun in New Jersey – a controversial decision that state officials say is intended to curb the population of black bears interacting with humans.
Segment A of bear hunting season began on Monday and will last through Oct. 19, with the first three days open for bowhunters only. The final three days, from Oct. 17-19, will be open for bowhunters and muzzleloader rifles, according to the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (NJFW).
For Segment B of black bear season, lasting Dec. 9-14, bear hunting will be permitted in New Jersey for shotgun and muzzleloader rifles only, according to the NJFW. Hunting hours during both segments begin 30 minutes before sunrise and end 30 minutes after sunset.
Hunters are limited to one bear over 75 pounds – or 50 pounds dressed – per segment, regardless of the number of permits the hunter holds, according to the Division of Fish and Wildlife. Hunters are not permitted to harvest black bears weighing less than 75 pounds live or 50 pounds dressed, nor can they hunt any adult bears in the presence of cubs.
The NJFW also said they may close the season early or extend it, depending on the number of bears harvested.
If the cumulative harvest rate reaches 30% of bears tagged in 2024, the season will be closed, according to the division. If the harvest rate doesn’t reach 20% for the period, the hunt will be extended to Dec. 18-Dec. 21.
This year marks the third opening of bear hunting season in New Jersey since 2022, when the NJFW’s Fish and Game Council voted unanimously to reinstate the state’s annual bear hunt, citing a significant increase in bear sightings around the state.
Animal conservationists criticized the decision at the time, telling ABC News that the measure wouldn’t lead to a decrease in human and bear interactions.
“New Jersey’s reactive bear management approach is ineffective, as it focuses on managing the bears, not managing the source of the problem,” Anjuli Ramos-Busot, New Jersey director of the Sierra Club, said in a statement in December 2023, after the bear hunting season was extended.
The black bear population in New Jersey has been increasing and expanding its range since the 1980s, with sightings in all 21 counties in the state, according to the NJFW.
In 2020, there were more than 3,150 black bears in the region north of Interstate 78 and west of Interstate 287 alone, a roughly 30% increase from the 2019 estimated population of 2,208 for the same region, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), which further notes that the population is expected to grow to 4,000 bears by 2027.
Dense populations of black bears can also lead to inadequate natural sources of food for the animals and territory for young males, causing wider dispersion of bears into areas where they are even more likely to come into conflict with people as they seek to feed from human trash, pet food left outside, seed from bird feeders, and agricultural crops, poultry and livestock, according to the NJFW.
Bear-involved incidents reported to the NJDEP from January 2022 through October 2022 increased by 237% compared to the same period in 2021, according to state data. The incidents included 62 aggressive encounters with humans, one attack on a human, 12 attacks on dogs, 12 home entries, 15 attempted home entries, 84 instances of property damage exceeding $1,000, and 52 attacks on protected livestock, according to the data.
The number of incidents decreased by more than 37% between 2022 and 2023, after bear hunting was reinstated, according to state data.
“Analysis of data from New Jersey reveals no correlation between the number of bears killed and human safety,” Wendy Keefover, senior strategist for native carnivore protection for the Humane Society of the United States, told ABC News via email. “Instead, researchers know that the most effective way for reducing conflicts with bears is to reduce access to human-food attractants.”
It is especially important during this time of year for residents to remove unsecured garbage cans and bird feeders, as bears preparing to go into hibernation typically eat about 20,000 calories per day, Keefover said.
“Hunting bears will never stop negative interactions with bears, but taking commonsense precautions like using bear-resistant trash cans and taking down bird feeders will,” Keefover said.
A total of 11,000 black bear hunting permits are available to properly licensed hunters and farmer hunters every year, according to the state. Firearm black bear hunters are required to wear a hat of solid fluorescent hunter orange or an outer garment containing at least 200 square inches of fluorescent orange material visible from all sides at all times while bear hunting, regulations state.
The 2022 reinstatement of bear hunting in New Jersey came four years Gov. Phil Murphy enforced a ban on the sport months after taking office in 2018. Murphy had run on a campaign promise that the bear hunts would not exist while he was in office.
“While I committed to ending the bear hunt, the data demands that we act now to prevent tragic bear and human interactions,” Murphy told reporters in a news conference in November 2022.
