U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced the Ban Birth Tourism Act to eliminate loopholes that foreign nationals exploit to become U.S. citizens. This follows President Trump’s swift action to protect the meaning and value of American citizenship.
“Foreign nationals have been exploiting our nation’s immigration laws for far too long, taking advantage of the system to come to the United States for the sole purpose of giving birth to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children,” said Senator Blackburn. “The Ban Birth Tourism Act would prevent foreign nationals, including those from adversaries like Communist China and Russia, from buying American citizenship for their children. As President Trump works to end birthright citizenship, we need to get this bill to his desk.”
BACKGROUND
- Birth tourism is a booming multi-million-dollar industry, and companies have capitalized on the allure of U.S. citizenship and cater to the trip-planning needs of pregnant foreigners.
- These businesses commonly cater to wealthy Russian and Chinese nationals and charge foreign clients thousands of dollars for advice on how to lie to immigration officers.
- It is estimated birth tourism results in at least 33,000 births to women on tourist visas annually.
- Those births result in instant citizenship for the infant, who can go on to sponsor the migration of their parents to the United States 21 years later.
THE BAN BIRTH TOURISM ACT
- The Ban Birth Tourism Act would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act and ban birth tourism as a permissible basis for obtaining a temporary visitor visa.
Click here for bill text.
