WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a new effort to crack down on birth tourism in the United States by imposing visa restrictions on people who “engage in or facilitate” the practice.
Birth tourism refers to foreign nationals legally entering the US to give birth, allowing their children to receive automatic citizenship. The Trump administration has been seeking ways to curb the practice since the Supreme Court rejected 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 seeking to end automatic birthright citizenship for children of both birth tourists and illegal immigrants.
The Supreme Court rejected that order in June, leading the Trump administration to pursue alternative measures aimed at preventing birth tourism and limiting US citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.
The State Department’s new policy invokes authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to revoke visas from people who “knowingly engage in, have engaged in, or facilitate birth tourism to the United States.” The measure also targets so-called visa fixers who advise foreign nationals on how to lie or exploit US immigration laws.
The United States has long maintained rules designed to deter and prevent birth tourism.
Rubio’s announcement came shortly before Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s closely watched visit to the White House on Thursday, his first such visit since 2015.
Several Republican lawmakers have expressed concerns about birth tourism networks with links to China.
“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,” Rubio added.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, Trump issued two executive orders. One sought to deny naturalization to children whose parents belong to designated terrorist organizations, while the other called for the removal of foreign nationals believed to be in the United States for birth tourism.
Rubio’s Wednesday announcement aligns with the latter executive order.
