Trump moves to curb birth tourism with new executive orders on citizenship

US President Donald Trump has issued two executive orders aimed at curbing "birth tourism" and limiting birthright citizenship in the United States. The orders target commercial arrangements where individuals travel to the U.S. specifically to give birth, giving their child U.S. citizenship. Trump seeks to deny citizenship to children born to certain foreign diplomatic staff in the U.S., and possibly in U.S. territories in the future.

Limiting birthright citizenship has been a key priority for the Republican president's immigration crackdown. A previous attempt by Trump to enact such measures was overturned by the Supreme Court in June, leading him to seek a new approach through executive orders. While no U.S. law directly prohibits birth tourism, a 2020 federal regulation bars using temporary tourist or business visas primarily for obtaining U.S. citizenship for a newborn.

Engaging in birth tourism schemes could result in prosecution for fraud or related offenses. The exact number of foreigners specifically traveling to the U.S. for the purpose of birth tourism or the associated taxpayer costs remains unknown. According to an analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies in 2020, between 20,000 and 25,000 mothers may have come to the U.S. for birth tourism between 2016 and 2017. That year, there were 3.6 million births in the U.S.