NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
The Trump administration is using visa legislation to regulate “birth visits,” a program allegedly used by foreigners to obtain tourist visas for the purpose of first giving birth in the US and obtaining US citizenship for their children.
The Trump administration recently announced that it had disrupted a “sophisticated birth tourism network” in West Africa involving more than 100 foreigners who used false documents and, what the State Department described as “fixers,” to obtain visas to the United States to give birth so that their children could be born on US soil and treated as American citizens.
But that was one of the networks the State Department revealed it had discovered. The agency’s announcement said that American officials identified more than 400 cases of suspected birth tourism from Europe since 2024, and arrested at least six companies that helped coach applicants to say what to say during visa interviews, arrange housing and delivery arrangements.
“We have shut it down, revoked the visas of foreign nationals, and are working with local authorities to systematically identify and prevent any similar operations,” the State Department said in its announcement. “A US visa is a right, not a right. The State Department is taking action around the world to stop this abuse, dismantle the birth-travel network, and arrest those who try to defraud our system.”
SEN. BLACKBURN SHOWS BIRTHDAY TOURISM, ‘BUYING AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP’ IN SUPPORT OF TRUMP’S IMPARTMENT PLAN
Secretary of State Marco Rubio boards his plane at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Wednesday, April 2, 2025, for NATO in Belgium. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The effort comes as Trump has renewed his criticism of birthright citizenship, including a 2025 executive order that seeks to limit who is automatically treated as a U.S. citizen at birth. It also builds on a first-term Trump administration rule from 2020 that ordered embassy officials to deny visitor visas to foreigners believed to be traveling to the US specifically to give birth and obtain US citizenship for their children.
“President Trump will always put the American people first. Unrestricted birthday visits impose huge costs on taxpayers and threaten our national security,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital. “The Trump administration successfully ended this practice, bringing the United States into line with the policy of many countries around the world.”
TRUMP PROTECTS CITY MONEY FOR END OF PRESIDENCY AFTER HOUSE PASSES $70B PACKAGE
Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform noted on Fox News Digital that visa fraud is a “huge problem,” pointing out that it is a problem outside of the immigration framework as well.
“Citizenship is undoubtedly a reason for people to commit visa fraud,” Mehlman said. “The birthday visit wouldn’t have happened.”
“Obviously, any woman who does not disclose her intention to have a child in the US when she applies for a visa is committing fraud. Take away the incentive for automatic birth citizenship for non-citizens and legal permanent residents, and the reason to commit this type of fraud ends,” he continued.
A woman pushing a cart on the street. (Stock)
Birth tours have been seen more frequently in the US in recent years, especially with activities suspected of training foreigners to conceal the purpose of their trip.
In California, federal prosecutors indicted employees of USA Happy Baby, a company accused of helping Chinese women travel to the U.S. to give birth to U.S. citizen children, and another employee of a business called You Win USA pleaded guilty to another charge stemming from a broader federal crackdown.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
Recently, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued a Houston-area postpartum center accused of facilitating 1,000 births for mostly Chinese clients, while House Oversight Republicans launched an investigation into several US-based companies allegedly advertising birth visit services.
Two immigrant families from Brazil pass through a gap in the border wall to reach the United States after crossing from Mexico to Yuma, Ariz., to seek asylum. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia, File)
Mehlman urged Congress to do more to improve vetting of visa applicants, prosecute fraudsters and end birth visits. He said there are ways to take legal action against the agencies that are said to be running this program.
“To the extent that we can prosecute companies outside of the United States, we should, just as we prosecute other types of international crimes and fraudulent activities,” Mehlman told Fox News Digital. “But each of these companies works with service providers here in the US, including hospitals.”
