USA: Trump schränkt Staatsbürgerschaft durch Geburt ein – und zielt auch auf Leihmutterschaften

Two new executive orders issued by US President Donald Trump could have far-reaching implications for the US birth tourism industry. In the early hours of Friday, Trump signed two presidential proclamations aimed at restricting the right to US citizenship by birth and curbing "birth tourism," as the proclamations refer to it. According to the White House, these measures expand the circle of individuals who do not have a claim to US citizenship.

A previous attempt by Trump in June was dismissed by the Supreme Court. Under the Constitution, every child born in the US receives US citizenship, regardless of the citizenship of their parents. What these proclamations can and cannot do is not to change the Constitution, but to give government and law enforcement agencies broader discretion to identify potential abuse and possibly deny visas, birth certificates, or passport documents.

The US government also reserves the right to later revoke US citizenship from individuals who have obtained it under false pretenses. The decree specifically addresses "birth tourism," when a pregnant woman travels to the US as a tourist solely with the aim of giving birth there. It also explicitly includes surrogacy as a separate case.

The White House instructed the US Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the Social Security Administration to adjust their procedures accordingly, giving them 30 days to do so. The Spahn case highlights the legal situation regarding surrogacy. In terms of surrogacy, the US citizenship of the child is a crucial part of the business model for international clients and agencies.

Therefore, the decree could cause significant uncertainty in the industry regarding what is legally possible and what is not. A prominent example of a foreign citizen who sought the services of a surrogate mother in the US is the politician Jens Spahn, who, together with his wife, established a family with the help of a US surrogate mother.

The child born in the US therefore holds US citizenship. Spahn resigned as Chairman of the Union fraction on July 18 after facing accusations of double standards, as he had publicly supported the ban on surrogacy in Germany, which his party advocates. German citizens likely make up only a very small portion of foreign couples who hire a surrogate mother in the US.

However, the US is more concerned about Chinese and Russian citizens who buy US citizenship for their children through surrogacy. Republican lawmakers and immigration opponents have long argued that surrogacy could be exploited by foreigners to grant their children US citizenship. Congress is therefore discussing the Safe Kids Act, which would restrict surrogacy agreements with citizens of certain countries.

The concern stems from reports of wealthy Chinese individuals who have had multiple children in the US through surrogacy. An especially egregious example was reported by the Wall Street Journal: A Florida surrogate mother gave birth to triplets for a single man in China who reportedly showed no interest in the children after birth.

The dispute over the handover erupted. The man denies the accusations. Tighter scrutiny? Surrogacy is banned in Germany, but permitted in other countries. However, a woman bears a child for foreign parents. The embryo is created through artificial insemination, and the surrogate mother is usually not genetically related to the child.

The procedure is sought by people for various reasons who cannot have children. In principle, the use of tourist and business visas with the primary aim of acquiring US citizenship for a newborn is already prohibited. However, this is a very complicated process, and proving intent is difficult. The Trump proclamations now indicate that the US government will be much stricter in scrutinizing foreigners who give birth in the US.

The White House is expanding the circle of individuals who do not have a claim to citizenship by birth. Previously, this included foreign ambassadors in the US. Now, employees of a foreign embassy or consulate, as well as "persons working for a foreign government," are explicitly excluded from having a claim to an American passport for their child born in the US.