Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday that the State Department has revoked more than 600 visas as part of a new effort to combat organized birth tourism operations that exploit U.S. immigration laws.
The Trump administration is targeting networks that help foreign nationals travel to America specifically to give birth so their children automatically receive U.S. citizenship. A newly created Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force has already taken action against hundreds of foreign nationals worldwide in its first month of operations.
What Rubio Announced
Rubio declared on X that “American citizenship is not for sale.” He stated that “elaborate birth tourism rings are profiting off the exploitation of America’s laws, coaching foreigners to defraud the U.S. visa system, arranging travel and housing, and even forging documents, all to enable foreign nationals to obtain citizenship for their children.”
The initiative focuses on fraud, visa deception, and commercial facilitators who treat American citizenship as a commodity. It does not change the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of birthright citizenship.
How The Policy Works
Since 2020, State Department rules have directed consular officers to deny visitor visas when the primary purpose appears to be giving birth for citizenship. The new task force expands that approach with retrospective reviews, visa revocations, and coordination with the Department of Homeland Security.
The State Department has not released details on specific countries or organizations targeted. Rubio said the effort is just beginning and that “the State Department will use all available tools to dismantle birth tourism networks and defend the integrity of U.S. citizenship.”
Expert Analysis
Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, associate policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, told Newsweek that birth tourism presents a complex policy challenge. “Giving birth on U.S. territory is not inherently illegal, but coming to the U.S. intentionally to give birth and the actions of the companies that Rubio describes, like visa fraud, are crimes,” she said.
Jeremy Beck, co-president of NumbersUSA, praised the enforcement focus. “Birth tourism undermines the integrity of birthright citizenship as asylum shopping undermines our humanitarian programs,” Beck told Newsweek. He noted that the U.S. and Canada are the only two developed economies to extend automatic citizenship to the children of tourists.
Beck called for Congress to act, citing recent Supreme Court rulings on birthright citizenship. He said proposed legislation from Senator Marsha Blackburn and Representative Rich McCormick would explicitly make tourists inadmissible if their intent is to have a baby for citizenship purposes.
This story has been updated. CNN’s Digital Team contributed to this report.