President moves to curb visa fraud and narrow citizenship claims tied to temporary foreign visitors
WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – President Donald Trump signed two executive actions Thursday aimed at restricting birth tourism and limiting automatic citizenship in certain cases, renewing his effort to confront what the administration calls widespread abuse of America’s immigration and citizenship laws.
One order seeks to restrict citizenship claims involving children born in the United States to foreign nationals who allegedly entered the country through fraud or traveled primarily to secure American citizenship for their child. The second directs the Departments of State and Homeland Security to strengthen visa screening and develop additional policies targeting the commercial birth-tourism industry, according to Fox News.
“This is about people coming into our country for the purpose of having a baby and taking advantage of our citizenship laws,” Trump said while announcing the actions. The president maintained that the new directives were carefully written to comply with the Constitution, although another round of legal challenges is expected.
The orders follow Trump’s setback at the Supreme Court in June, when the justices ruled 6-3 that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present are citizens at birth under the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment. The majority held that such children remain “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States.
Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented, arguing in varying degrees that the amendment’s historical meaning did not necessarily extend automatic citizenship to children of temporary foreign visitors. Thomas pointed to statements from lawmakers involved in drafting the 14th Amendment who distinguished between complete allegiance to the United States and temporary presence within the country.
Crackdown on Organized Birth-Tourism Networks
The administration has increasingly focused on businesses that allegedly coach pregnant foreign nationals to conceal their intentions from immigration officials, arrange housing and medical care, and deliver their children in the United States before returning overseas.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched a nationwide Birth Tourism Initiative earlier this year targeting visa fraud, financial crimes and organized networks that exploit lawful immigration channels. Giving birth in the United States is not itself illegal, but federal regulations prohibit obtaining a temporary visitor visa primarily to secure American citizenship for a newborn.
There are no definitive federal figures showing how many foreign nationals enter the country specifically to give birth. A 2020 estimate from the Center for Immigration Studies placed the number between 20,000 and 25,000 annually, though birth-tourism cases represent only a fraction of total U.S. births.
The dispute now appears likely to shift from a broad challenge to birthright citizenship toward narrower legal questions involving fraudulent entry, temporary visitors and organized schemes designed specifically to obtain citizenship.
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