Trump Signs Executive Order Cracking Down on ‘Birth Tourism’ After Supreme Court Setback
President Donald J. Trump signed a new executive order Thursday aimed at stopping foreign nationals from traveling to the United States specifically to give birth and obtain American citizenship for their children, opening a new front in his administration’s battle over birthright citizenship.
Trump announced the crackdown during an Oval Office signing ceremony, arguing that the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship has been exploited by wealthy foreigners and organized operations that arrange trips to the United States for pregnant women. The president said the practice has effectively allowed some people to buy their way into American citizenship through their children.
Under the executive order, children born to mothers determined to have entered the United States solely for the purpose of giving birth would not automatically receive citizenship. The administration is also targeting organizations that arrange birth-tourism trips and individuals suspected of misrepresenting their reasons for seeking entry into the country.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller described birth tourism as a fraud against the American immigration system and taxpayers. Miller said some foreign nationals claim they are entering the country for ordinary tourism while their actual intention is to give birth on American soil and secure citizenship for the child.
White House staff secretary Will Scharf said organized operations have developed around the practice, with some facilitating travel for large numbers of pregnant women. The administration plans to use visa restrictions against prospective parents when officials have reason to believe they are traveling for birth tourism, as well as against individuals involved in organizing such operations.
Trump also signed a separate order addressing children born to foreign diplomatic personnel and parents classified as alien enemies. The administration is additionally seeking to change citizenship rules involving U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, although that portion would require congressional legislation rather than executive action.
The new measures follow a Supreme Court setback for the administration earlier this summer. In June, the high court rejected Trump’s effort to restrict constitutional birthright citizenship, leaving the broader protections of the 14th Amendment in place. The amendment states that people born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens.
Questions remain about how the government will determine whether a pregnant visitor entered the country specifically to give birth rather than for legitimate tourism. The administration says immigration and consular officials will examine suspected cases and use visa authorities to prevent individuals believed to be participating in birth-tourism arrangements from entering the country.
Trump has made restricting birthright citizenship a longstanding part of his immigration agenda, arguing that the current interpretation has been stretched far beyond its original purpose. After failing to secure broader restrictions at the Supreme Court, the president is now targeting birth tourism directly as his administration continues seeking ways to tighten citizenship and immigration rules.