Acting Attorney General Announces Focus on Birth-Tourism Enforcement After Supreme Court Ruling
The Justice Department will prioritize investigations into alleged birth-tourism schemes, directing prosecutors and law-enforcement partners to pursue fraud charges despite the practice accounting for less than 1% of U.S. births.
The Justice Department announced that federal prosecutors and law-enforcement agencies will target "birth tourism," defined as tourists, temporary visitors and undocumented immigrants traveling to the United States to give birth, following the Supreme Court's decision upholding birthright citizenship. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters that the department will work with Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI to limit the use of tourist visas for this purpose.
In an internal memo, Assistant Attorney General for the National Fraud Division Colin McDonald instructed staff to bring fraud charges in alleged birth-tourism cases, stating that the department will "zealously protect the sanctity of United States citizenship by investigating and prosecuting those who fraudulently exploit our immigration system."
The Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration's argument that children born to non-citizen parents on temporary visas are not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States, with Chief Justice John Roberts noting the administration offered "scant evidence" for that view. Estimates from the Center for Immigration Studies place birth-tourism births at 20,000-26,000 per year, under 1% of total U.S. births.
Republican officials continued to express concern about the practice. > "I do think that this has been grossly abused in recent years," House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a press conference. > "Well, look, do I think she made a mistake in the ruling? I do," Vice President JD Vance said when asked about Justice Amy Coney Barrett's vote, adding that the benefits of citizenship for children of temporary visitors were not intended by the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment.
President Trump is urging Congress to pass legislation that would create exceptions to birthright citizenship for children of parents without permanent legal status, a proposal that would face a filibuster hurdle in the Senate.
