President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday aimed at curbing "birth tourism," a practice where foreign nationals travel to the United States to give birth to children who are then granted U.S. citizenship.
The order targets children born to mothers who enter the United States for the primary purpose of having a child on American soil, aiming to prevent what Trump described as the "joke" of birthright citizenship.
"Birth tourism is by definition a fraud on the American system, on the American taxpayer," said Stephen Miller, Trump's top immigration adviser, who has been a key figure in developing the order. The directive also addresses citizenship for children born to foreign diplomatic staff working in the U.S. and those whose parents are classified as alien enemies.
Additionally, the order includes provisions to bar citizenship for individuals born in U.S. territories like Puerto Rico, contingent on Congress passing specific legislation, though such measures are not expected to advance.
The administration faces questions regarding the enforcement of the order, particularly how it will identify pregnant women entering the country with the intent to give birth versus those visiting for other reasons. Staff secretary Will Scharf stated that "criminal rings are setting up a system whereby tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of people can come to this country in an organized fashion and give birth here purely for the sake of obtaining birthright citizenship." He added that the order includes measures to combat such organized practices, including denying visas to individuals suspected of engaging in this activity or to those organizing such operations.
This executive action follows a Supreme Court decision in June that rejected the Trump administration's attempt to restrict constitutional birthright citizenship, a principle generally protected under the 14th Amendment. The court's ruling left the practice intact, prompting the administration to pursue this new avenue.