Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a fresh crackdown on birth tourism Wednesday, imposing visa restrictions on individuals who “engage in or facilitate” the practice as the Trump administration presses forward with efforts to protect the value of American citizenship.
Birth tourism refers to foreigners legally entering the United States to give birth so their children automatically receive U.S. citizenship. The Trump administration has been searching for ways to stop the practice ever since the Supreme Court struck down the president’s executive order targeting it.
“By restricting visa issuance of those who both engage in and profit from this fraud, we are sending a clear message: The United States will not allow foreigners to exploit our immigration system and violate the sanctity of U.S. citizenship,” Rubio said in a statement first reported by Fox News.
On his first day back in the White House, President Trump signed an executive order to end automatic birthright citizenship for the children of both birth tourists and illegal immigrants. The Supreme Court knocked down that order in June, sending the president’s team searching for other avenues to prevent birth tourism and to keep the children of illegal immigrants from obtaining U.S. citizenship.
The State Department’s new policy relies on authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to revoke visas from those “who knowingly engage in, have engaged in, or facilitate birth tourism to the United States.” That includes so-called visa fixers, individuals who coach foreigners on how to lie or take advantage of America’s immigration laws.
The United States has long had a set of rules on the books aimed at preventing birth tourism.
The timing of Rubio’s move is notable. The announcement came just before Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s highly anticipated White House visit on Thursday, his first since 2015.
Several Republican lawmakers have voiced concerns about birth tourism networks with ties to China.
Rubio made clear the administration intends to go on offense.
“The Trump Administration is using every tool at our disposal to defend the integrity of U.S. citizenship, protect American public benefits and U.S. taxpayers from exploitation, and safeguard our national security,” he said.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Trump fired back with two executive orders. One seeks to deny naturalization to children whose parents belong to designated terrorist organizations. The other calls for the removal of foreigners believed to be in the United States for the purpose of birth tourism.
Rubio’s Wednesday announcement lines up with that second executive order, marking the latest step in the administration’s push to close the door on those who would game the system.
The new visa restrictions target not only the foreigners who travel to the U.S. to give birth, but also the people who profit from helping them do it. By going after the facilitators as well as the participants, the State Department is aiming at the entire operation behind the practice.
For the Trump administration, the message is straightforward: despite the setback at the Supreme Court, the fight over birth tourism is far from over, and officials say they will keep using every tool available to them.
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