The State Department will deny visas to foreigners involved in birth tourism operations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the restrictions on Wednesday, citing a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows the secretary to declare a foreigner inadmissible on foreign policy grounds. The policy targets individuals who own, operate, or manage commercial birth tourism networks, as well as visa 'fixers' who assist applicants in submitting false information, and foreign doctors who facilitate travel and the fraudulent use of Medicaid. Family members of these individuals may also be affected.
Rubio stated that these networks operate openly, guiding clients through fraudulent visa applications and charging substantial fees for arranging births in the United States. He emphasized, 'The United States will not allow foreigners to exploit our immigration system.' Pregnant foreigners will still be permitted to travel to the U.S., but the restrictions will apply only to those identified as knowingly participating in commercial operations.
The State Department has been addressing this issue since summer, with its Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force revoking over 600 visas in its first month. Rubio remarked in August that American citizenship is 'not for sale.'
Rubio's announcement coincided with President Donald Trump's welcome of Chinese President Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews for a three-day state visit, although the policy does not specify any country.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) introduced a bill last week that would classify recruiting or harboring a pregnant foreign national for birth tourism as trafficking, which could result in up to 15 years of imprisonment per offense. Mace stated, 'America is not the world’s maternity ward.'
These restrictions follow the Supreme Court’s June 30 decision that rejected Trump’s birthright citizenship order and two executive orders from August, transferring the responsibility of addressing birth tourism to the State Department and Homeland Security.
According to Steven Camarota, research director at the Center for Immigration Studies, between 200,000 and 300,000 children were born to birth tourists in the past decade.