Businesses that help foreign nationals travel to the United States to give birth, thereby obtaining U.S. citizenship for their children, may be engaging in a criminal conspiracy, according to Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, chairman of the House Oversight Committee’s Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses.
Gill stated that his panel has subpoenaed several such companies as part of its investigation into firms advertising services that assist foreign nationals in traveling to the U.S. for childbirth. He asserted that under current law, birth tourism is illegal and that companies facilitating this process, potentially through false statements on immigration or visa forms, could be involved in criminal conspiracy.
State Department regulations prohibit foreign nationals from obtaining visitor visas if consular officers determine that their primary purpose for travel is to give birth in the United States to secure citizenship for their child. The national scrutiny on birth tourism intensified following the circulation of photographs depicting a billboard advertising services for childbirth at the Mission Regional Medical Center in Mission, Texas. The billboard, in Spanish, promoted a "Have My Baby In Texas" website and listed prices for births and Cesarean sections, including a U.S. country code in a provided phone number.
Gill described birth tourism as an "obvious and clear abuse" of the U.S. immigration system. He argued that birthright citizenship, established by the Fourteenth Amendment, was not intended for individuals not subject to U.S. law, such as the children of those crossing the border illegally.
"It had nothing to do with hordes of illegal aliens crossing our southern border and giving birth in America and using those babies to anchor illegal aliens into our country," Gill said. He suggested that birthright citizenship was originally intended for former slaves and their children. "And for all of America's history, we've always had a very clear understanding that there are certain people who are born within America's boundaries, within America borders, who are not American citizens, the children of an invading army."
Legislation proposed by Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., aims to codify President Donald Trump’s executive order characterizing the immigration crisis as an "invasion." The bill would cite the 1898 Wong Kim Ark Supreme Court case’s exemption of citizenship for individuals not "bound to render obedience to the sovereign (U.S. government) whose domains are being invaded." Gill expressed support for such legislative clarification.
A spokesperson for Mission Regional Medical Center stated that a limited marketing campaign, which has since been discontinued, may have caused unintended misunderstanding. The hospital affirmed that the campaign was not intended to encourage unlawful activity and that the center remains committed to serving the Rio Grande Valley with integrity and in compliance with all applicable laws. The spokesperson added that the hospital does not support or facilitate unlawful activity and has never operated its obstetric program with the intent of attracting individuals unlawfully present in the U.S. or promoting birth tourism. A survey indicated that 99% of emergency and inpatient patients at the hospital were legal U.S. residents or citizens.
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the Oversight Committee, previously stated in May that birth tourism exploits U.S. immigration law and that those who misrepresent their intentions to come to the U.S. are breaking the law. Following a Supreme Court ruling that struck down a Trump administration order on birthright citizenship, lawmakers including Gill and Banks have indicated plans to pursue legislative avenues to restrict it.