Thread: Trump signs two actions to limit birthright citizenship & curb "birth tourism"

Trump signs 2 immigration actions to limit birthright citizenship and curb ‘birth tourism’

The Supreme Court shot down the president’s first effort targeting birthright citizenship. He says he thinks this attempt will pass constitutional muster.

Trump’s new executive orders restrict birthright citizenship
01:51

Aug. 6, 2026, 6:32 PM EDT / Updated Aug. 6, 2026, 7:44 PM EDT

Source: The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is once more trying to limit the number of people who are born in the country who can become American citizens, in a sign that even after his first attempt at limiting birthright citizenship was rejected by the Supreme Court, he’s ready to try again.

The president said he was signing two executive actions on immigration, including one limiting the number of people eligible for U.S. citizenship after being born in the United States, while another focused on stopping people from coming to the U.S. to give birth.

The written executive order released later Thursday was narrower in scope than the previous one shot down by the Supreme Court and appeared to focus on restricting automatic citizenship to specific categories of people, including children born to adults with connections to foreign embassies or organizations as well as anyone considered an “alien enemy” of the United States.

It also aimed to restrict birthright citizenship to anyone whose parents “engaged in fraudulent activity to obtain citizenship.”



Birthright citizenship placards during a demonstration outside the Supreme Court in April.
Heather Diehl / Getty Images

A second order seeks to curb what Trump called “birth tourism” by increasing restrictions on visitors to the U.S. who want to obtain visas to give birth while in the country.

It was not immediately clear how successful the president’s most recent attempt to restrict birthright citizenship would be. Trump said he thought his latest actions would be constitutional and his drive to reopen the question reflected the administration’s zeal to restrict who gets to become an American.

“I thought we were going to win it at the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, we had a bad decision, very unfair decision. Our country suffers because of it and we’re ending it a different way,” Trump said.

The Migration Policy Institute noted in a 2026 article that it’s already considered fraud and grounds to restrict a visa if someone seeks a visa specifically to come to the U.S. and obtain citizenship for a child. Previous administrations have also sought to prosecute so-called “birth tourism” schemes that helped women hide their pregnancies while traveling to the United States to give birth.

Birthright citizenship has become a key rallying point in the president’s second term anti-immigration agenda, with the president and supporters arguing it makes the country a magnet for immigration and that American citizenship should be reserved for those who truly value it, as opposed to just being given to anyone born here.

But immigration advocates and many legal experts say that the Constitution is clear in outlining who is considered a citizen. They’ve also argued that birthright citizenship is a benefit to the U.S. by giving everyone an equal stake in the country’s future and that restricting who can become a citizen would create a second-class of people in America.



President Donald Trump holds up a newly signed executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday.
Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images

The Trump administration has painted birth tourism as a widespread problem. There’s no official estimate of how many births can be considered “birth tourism” births, but an estimated 26,000 might fall into that category out of the roughly 3.5 million births in the U.S. every year, MPI wrote in its 2026 article.

In June, the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s previous efforts to declare that children born to people in the U.S. illegally or temporarily aren’t American citizens, and upheld a broad conception of birthright citizenship.

The American Civil Liberties Union predicted that Trump’s second attempt would also be rejected.

“The Supreme Court already decided this issue: Birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Constitution. No additional executive order can change the meaning of the Constitution. Any executive order that tries to rewrite birthright citizenship will meet the same fate as the last one,” said Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, in a statement Thursday.

On Trump’s first day in office of his second term, he signed an executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship, which allows anyone born in the United States to automatically become an American citizen.

Trump’s administration was immediately sued by opponents who said the executive order went against the 14th Amendment, adopted after the Civil War, which makes anyone born in the country a citizen, with very limited exceptions.

The executive order was blocked by several lower courts and never took effect.

In June, the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s order by a 6-3 vote. But the vote was too close for many immigration advocates and legal observers who felt the legal question of birthright citizenship was a long-settled issue.

When it came to the legal question of whether birthright citizenship was protected by the Constitution, the vote was even narrower. Only five justices said it was enshrined in the Constitution, while Justice Brett Kavanaugh rejected the executive order, but did so specifically on the grounds that federal law conveys birthright citizenship.

Trump signs actions on birthright citizenship and ‘birth tourism’

State Department Establishes Task Force to End Birth Tourism

OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON

AUGUST 12, 2026

https://www.state.gov/releases/offic...birth-tourism/

Under President Trump and Secretary Rubio’s leadership, the Department of State is using all available tools to defend the integrity of U.S. citizenship, ensure nonimmigrant visas are used only for their lawful and intended purposes, and prevent their exploitation through birth tourism. As President Trump has made clear, citizenship is not a commodity to be acquired through the calculated exploitation of U.S. immigration laws. The Department of State is working closely with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to combat birth tourism and protect the integrity of the U.S. immigration system.

New Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force
To maximize the success of this comprehensive effort, the State Department has established a Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force.

• The Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force reviews the activities of visa holders worldwide to identify instances of birth tourism, take action to revoke visas of those who engage in or facilitate it, and dismantle the networks that profit from this abuse.
• The Task Force addresses the abuse by analyzing and connecting information held across the Department and other federal agencies, including the DHS.
• Thanks to the coordination of the Task Force, the Department of State is addressing birth tourism on a global scale, examining travel histories of individuals from all around the world in order to end this exploitation and abuse.
• The Birth Tourism taskforce has taken action by revoking more than 600 visas from foreign nationals across the globe to safeguard our nation from this abuse.
• The Department generally revokes visas when there are indications of a potential ineligibility.
• The Secretary has broad discretionary authority to revoke visas – and the Trump Administration is committed to exercising that authority to protect the American people and the integrity of our immigration system.

Birth Tourism Has Become a For-Profit Industry
Facilitators have turned birth tourism into a lucrative, for-profit industry.

• These facilitators sometimes market themselves as doulas, midwives, or wellness advocates while openly advertising “birth in the U.S.” services, visa coaching, and hospital arrangements.
• Some forge medical documents or coach clients to conceal their true travel purpose and avoid paying hospital bills, with online marketing promising clients “automatic citizenship” and “a future without borders.”
• The facts are clear–birth tourism is a pervasive practice that involves nationals from countries spanning every region of the globe.
• The Department is taking action to dismantle these networks and hold all participants accountable.

Birth Tourism Fraud
The work of the Bureau of Consular Affairs Task Force and consular officers at U.S. embassies and consulates around the world is exposing widespread patterns of deception.

• Foreigners who willfully misrepresent the purpose of their travel or entry into the United States may be permanently ineligible for a U.S. visa or entry to the United States.
• The Department has uncovered patterns that illustrate the lengths some applicants will go to circumvent our laws in order to secure U.S. citizenship for their children – and potentially for themselves in the future.
• One couple used a conference and a vacation trip to go shopping as cover stories to give birth to two children in the United States, lying about their travel purpose in two separate visa applications. On the second occasion, the couple concealed that they had a child. The visas have been revoked.
• In another case, a foreign government official requested a visa to travel on behalf of her government for just one week, but instead stayed three months and gave birth in the United States before departing. The Department revoked the visa.
• Another traveler applied for a visa to go on vacation in Orlando and instead traveled to Los Angeles and gave birth five days after arrival. The Department revoked the visa.

Citizenship is not a commodity to be acquired through calculated exploitation and evasion of the immigration laws. Foreign nationals who abuse the visa system, and those who help them do so, may lose their visa, their access, and their future in the United States. This is only the beginning.

TAGS
Bureau of Consular AffairsDepartment of Homeland Security (DHS)Office of the SpokespersonThe Secretary of StateU.S. Visas and Green Cards

US birth tourism crackdown: 600+ visas revoked as Trump tightens rules

https://www.business-standard.com/im...1300715_1.html

US birth tourism crackdown intensifies as 600+ visas are revoked, raising scrutiny for foreign nationals seeking to give birth in America



Early puberty and early motherhood may increase long-term health risks for women, including diabetes and faster aging. (Photo: Adobestock)

Amit Kumar New Delhi

4 min read Last Updated : Aug 13 2026 | 11:54 AM IST

The US has revoked more than 600 visas in the past month as the Trump administration steps up its crackdown on “birth tourism”, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, signalling tougher scrutiny for foreign nationals suspected of using the visa system to travel to the country primarily to give birth.

The action follows the creation of a Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force by the US State Department. The task force has been examining visa-holder activity, travel histories and information shared across US government agencies to identify suspected birth tourism networks.

Rubio said the task force had revoked more than 600 visas “across the globe” in just one month and would continue its efforts. He also warned that the US would use its immigration powers to target networks that facilitate such travel.

What is birth tourism?
Birth tourism refers to travelling to another country, particularly the US, with the primary purpose of giving birth there so that the child may obtain citizenship.

According to PTI, Rubio said some organised networks were allegedly coaching foreign nationals to misrepresent their intentions to US authorities, arranging travel and accommodation and, in some cases, forging documents.

The Trump administration has described such practices as an abuse of the US visa system. Rubio said the government’s position was that “American citizenship is not for sale”.

The State Department said the task force is examining information held by the Department of State and other federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, to identify possible abuse.

What does the crackdown mean for Indians?
Indian travellers who apply for or hold a US visa could face greater scrutiny if their travel pattern or stated purpose raises questions about whether the primary intention of the trip is genuine.

This does not mean that every pregnant Indian woman travelling to the US will automatically face visa cancellation. The key issue is whether the authorities believe the visa has been obtained or used in a manner that makes the traveller ineligible.

The State Department said it generally revokes visas when there are indications of potential ineligibility. It also noted that the Secretary of State has broad discretionary authority to revoke visas.

For Indian applicants, this makes accurate disclosure particularly important. Applicants should ensure that the purpose of travel stated during the visa process is truthful and consistent with their actual plans.

Why this matters for US visa holders
The crackdown also signals that the US is taking a broader approach to visa enforcement, with increased use of data-sharing and cross-agency scrutiny to identify suspected immigration violations.

The latest action indicates that US authorities are not limiting their scrutiny to new visa applications. The task force is also reviewing people who already hold visas, including their travel histories.

That means a valid visa does not necessarily guarantee continued eligibility to enter the US. Visa holders can still be subject to checks and immigration decisions at the border.

According to PTI, the State Department said the task force would operate on a global scale and use information from different government agencies to identify suspected exploitation of the immigration system.

For Indian families considering travel to the US around childbirth, the development is therefore significant. Any application or travel plan should be based on a genuine and accurately disclosed purpose, rather than assumptions that holding a valid visa guarantees entry or continued validity.

The latest crackdown also signals that the US administration is taking a broader approach to visa enforcement, with increased use of data-sharing and cross-agency scrutiny to identify suspected immigration violations.