The US State Department has already canceled 600 visas issued to foreigners from around the world to combat so-called birth tourism. This is the practice of foreigners coming to the US to give birth to a child so that the child automatically receives American citizenship.
The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote about this in X.
Rubio wrote that they have created a task force to combat birth tourism, which is investigating the activities of visa holders, dismantling illegal networks and stopping violations of the countryʼs laws. He called such cases "abuse".
On August 6, Donald Trump signed two executive orders that seek to narrow the right to automatic birthright citizenship. This is the second attempt by the American president.
At the end of June, the US Supreme Court had already blocked Trumpʼs broader executive order, which would have abolished automatic citizenship for children born in the US to parents who are not citizens of the country.
Who will be affected by the new restrictions?
The Trump administration argues that the Supreme Courtʼs decision still leaves room for exceptions. The new orders apply to unborn babies in only four cases:
- children born to foreign diplomatic personnel and other employees representing foreign governments in the United States;
- children of those whom the American authorities classify as “enemy aliens”, including members of officially recognized terrorist organizations;
- children born in US territories, if Congress in the future abolishes automatic citizenship for them (this primarily applies to Puerto Rico, although the relevant bill has no chance of being passed yet);
- children of women who intentionally entered the United States only to give birth and hid the true purpose of their trip. The decree also provides for combating the use of surrogacy for such schemes.
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