The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has stepped up its campaign against so-called birth tourism, announcing the creation of a specialized task force and the revocation of more than 600 visas held by foreign nationals around the world.
The U.S. Department of State said the new Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force is designed to identify and disrupt schemes in which foreign nationals travel to the United States primarily to give birth, with the expectation that their children will obtain American citizenship.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the initiative on August 12, saying the government had already revoked more than 600 visas in the first month of the operation.
The action forms part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to tighten immigration controls and ensure that nonimmigrant visas are used only for their stated and lawful purposes.
According to the State Department, the task force will work with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to examine visa holders’ travel histories and other available information. Officials say the initiative is also focused on people and organizations suspected of facilitating birth-tourism operations.
The administration argues that some birth-tourism networks exploit the U.S. immigration and visa system by helping pregnant women obtain visitor visas under misleading circumstances, arranging accommodation and transportation, and organizing medical services.
Rubio has emphasized that American citizenship should not be treated as a commodity.
The State Department has also warned that people who deliberately misrepresent the purpose of their travel or provide false information during the visa process can face visa revocation and potentially permanent ineligibility for a U.S. visa or admission.
Officials have cited several cases uncovered by consular officers. In one example reported by the State Department, a couple allegedly claimed they were travelling to the United States for a shopping vacation but were actually intending to give birth to two children.
In another case, a woman reportedly obtained a visa for a vacation in Orlando but travelled to Los Angeles and gave birth only five days after arriving in the country.
The latest crackdown comes amid a much broader immigration enforcement drive by the Trump administration.
The State Department recently disclosed that more than 175,000 visas had been revoked since Trump returned to office, with cancellations involving alleged criminal activity, immigration violations, fraud and national-security concerns, among other reasons.
Birth tourism has long been a controversial issue in the United States.
While travelling to the country for medical treatment is not itself prohibited, U.S. authorities have maintained that visitor visas cannot lawfully be used for the primary purpose of giving birth in America in order to obtain citizenship for a child.
The administration’s latest action also intersects with Trump’s broader effort to restrict birthright citizenship. His administration has renewed attempts to limit automatic citizenship in certain circumstances, although legal challenges surrounding the constitutional scope of birthright citizenship remain significant.
For prospective visitors, immigration lawyers and travel experts are expected to closely monitor how the new task force operates. The increased scrutiny could result in more intensive questioning of visa applicants and travellers whose circumstances suggest that childbirth may be the primary purpose of their proposed visit.
The State Department, meanwhile, has signalled that the task force will continue operating globally. With more than 600 visas already revoked, the administration’s message is clear: it intends to make birth tourism a major target of its wider immigration enforcement strategy.
