HARLINGEN, Texas (Border Report) -- Migrant advocacy groups in Texas are urging migrants to know their healthcare rights as a new state law took effect requiring hospitals to ask citizenship questions of patients. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) has issued a "Know Your Rights" explainer on its website that says patients are under "no obligation to disclose status." Migrants dead, injured after National Guard opens fire on smugglers "Hospitals, as businesses, are required to report medical care provided to undocumented patients, but you, as a patient, are not required to answer questions about your immigration status. Refusing to respond is not a crime," LULAC says. Migrant advocacy groups urge patients not share citizenship status with hospitals Medical care cannot be denied or interrupted and under federal law hospitals must provide care in emergencies to anyone in need. "LULAC is proud to issue this set of guidelines, which are based upon federal civil rights laws and protect access to health care when Latinos in Texas face an emergency and need to go to the hospital," LULAC President Roman Palomares says. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in August ordered hospitals to ask a citizenship question of undocumented migrants as a way to "assess costs to the Texas public hospital system imposed by the federal government’s open-border policies,” according to the executive order that Abbott signed. The statewide order took effect on Nov. 1. Abbott orders hospitals to compile patients’ immigration status Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a news conference on March 15, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images) “The surge of individuals crossing the southern border has continued,” Abbott wrote in his executive order. “Federal law contributes to the growth of uncompensated medical costs by requiring that any individual must be allowed to obtain emergency medical treatment regardless of that individual’s immigration status, or willingness or ability to pay for such treatment.” "Access to medical care is not a privilege; it is a lawful right when a person is facing a medical emergency," says Gloria Leal, LULAC General Counsel. "These guidelines conform to those federal laws, and the governor's executive action requires the business, not the patient, to disclose information." "This order could discourage migrants from seeking emergency medical care due to fear of being questioned about their immigration status. It will also have negative impacts on their health, and it violates the trust they have with their healthcare providers. People’s private medical information should be maintained between them and their healthcare provider, not the state. Everyone, especially those in need of urgent medical care, should be able to access hospitals without fear – regardless of their immigration status," said Kassandra Gonzalez, a lawyer with the Beyond Borders Program of the Texas Civil Rights Project. Visit the BorderReport.com homepage for the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the U.S.-Mexico border "The Texas Civil Rights Project will continue to advocate against this and all anti-immigrant policies and ensure that vulnerable communities are aware of their right to decline to answer questions about immigration status from their healthcare providers," Gonzalez said in a statement. Sandra Sanchez can be reached at [email protected].