The State Department has announced a new visa restriction policy specifically aimed at those partaking in birth tourism.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a press statement that the policy goes after those “who knowingly engage in, have engaged in, or facilitate birth tourism to the United States, including owners, operators, and managers of commercial birth tourism facilitation networks, visa ‘fixers’ who coach applicants to commit fraud, foreign medical providers who knowingly abet and facilitate such travel and the fraudulent use of our Medicaid system, and other individuals who support, abet, and enable commercial birth tourism.”
The State Department previously established a Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force in alignment with President Trump’s order on the subject. The task force will review the actions of visa holders and take steps to revoke the visas of those engaging in or facilitating birth tourism. More than 600 visas of foreign nationals around the world have already faced visa revocations from participation in birth tourism schemes.
Last month, President Trump signed executive orders taking aim at birth tourism and birthright citizenship.
“We had a very unfortunate decision in the Supreme Court concerning birthright. It was close, but a very, very unfortunate decision. So we’re making adjustments because it’s very unfair,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “This was done for a different reason. This was done right after the Civil War. This was for the babies of slaves, and what’s happening now? People are building businesses around it.”
Actions against birth tourism have been blocked by courts. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a temporary injunction against Trump’s order, writing that the action is “almost certainly unconstitutional,” citing a recent Supreme Court decision that addressed birthright citizenship. “The Supreme Court has spoken: Children in the certified class are ‘citizens at birth,’” the Maryland judge declared.
