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    Trump establishes task force to end ‘birth tourism’

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    As legal groups file a lawsuit against President Trump’s new birthright citizenship order for Caribbean and other immigrants, the administration has established a task force for ending what it described as “birth tourism.” “Under President Trump and Secretary (Marco) Rubio’s leadership, the Department of State is using all available tools to defend the integrity of US citizenship, ensure nonimmigrant visas are used only for their lawful and intended purposes, and prevent their exploitation through birth tourism,” said the State Department in a statement on Wednesday, Aug. 12. “As President Trump has made clear, citizenship is not a commodity to be acquired through the calculated exploitation of US immigration laws,” it added, stating that it is “working closely with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to combat birth tourism and protect the integrity of the US immigration system.”  To maximize the success of this comprehensive effort, the State Department said the Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force will “review the activities of visa holders worldwide to identify instances of birth tourism, take action to revoke visas of those who engage in or facilitate it, and dismantle the networks that profit from this abuse.”  The State Department said the Task Force will address “the abuse by analyzing and connecting information held across the Department and other federal agencies, including the DHS.  “Thanks to the coordination of the Task Force, the Department of State is addressing birth tourism on a global scale, examining travel histories of individuals from all around the world in order to end this exploitation and abuse,” it said, disclosing that the Birth Tourism taskforce has already taken action by revoking more than 600 visas from foreign nationals across the globe “to safeguard our nation from this abuse.”  The State Department said it generally revokes visas when there are indications of a potential ineligibility. “The Secretary has broad discretionary authority to revoke visas — and the Trump administration is committed to exercising that authority to protect the American people and the integrity of our immigration system,” it said, claiming that “facilitators have turned birth tourism into a lucrative, for-profit industry. “These facilitators sometimes market themselves as doulas, midwives, or wellness advocates while openly advertising ‘birth in the US’ services, visa coaching, and hospital arrangements.,” the State Department added. “Some forge medical documents or coach clients to conceal their true travel purpose and avoid paying hospital bills, with online marketing promising clients ‘automatic citizenship’ and ‘a future without borders.’ “The facts are clear — birth tourism is a pervasive practice that involves nationals from countries spanning every region of the globe,” it continued. “The Department is taking action to dismantle these networks and hold all participants accountable.” The State Department warned that Caribbean and other foreigners who willfully misrepresent the purpose of their travel or entry into the United States may be permanently ineligible for a US visa or entry into the United States. It said it has uncovered patterns that illustrate the lengths some applicants will go to circumvent US laws in order to secure US citizenship for their children — and potentially for themselves in the future. “Citizenship is not a commodity to be acquired through calculated exploitation and evasion of the immigration laws,” the State Department said. “Foreign nationals who abuse the visa system, and those who help them do so, may lose their visa, their access, and their future in the United States. This is only the beginning.” On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said it and other legal groups that recently won a major United States Supreme Court victory on behalf of Caribbean and other babies who would have been denied citizenship under a “failed Trump executive order” are asking a federal district court to ensure those children remain protected from the president’s latest attacks.  The ACLU said that the US Supreme Court handed the civil and legal rights organizations a “resounding win” on June 30 in Trump v. Barbara, when it struck down the president’s order that “sought to undo this fundamental constitutional protection.”  On Aug. 6, Trump signed a new executive order again targeting birthright citizenship.  The ACLU said it, ACLU of New Hampshire, ACLU of Maine, ACLU of Massachusetts, Legal Defense Fund, Asian Law Caucus, and Democracy Defenders Fund had successfully argued the Barbara case.  On Tuesday, the ACLU said they asked a federal district court in Concord, New Hampshire to “make it unquestionably clear that the citizenship of babies covered by that class-action lawsuit is protected despite this new executive order. The ACLU noted that, in its June ruling, the US Supreme Court confirmed that the Constitution’s Citizenship Clause puts “the question of citizenship ‘once and forever [to] rest.’”  In their motion filed in New Hampshire federal court, where the lawsuit was first filed, the legal groups wrote, “The Supreme Court confirmed that there are no additional exceptions beyond those recognized in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898), and the Fourteenth Amendment is not subject to executive (or legislative) revision.  “President Trump’s continued resistance to that principle calls for this Court’s renewed intervention,” they added.  Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project and lead counsel, said “President Trump may not like the fact that birthright citizenship is a constitutional right, and he may not like that he lost in the Supreme Court, but that is really beside the point.  “It’s well past time for these illegal and cruel attacks on children’s citizenship to end,” he said.  SangYeob Kim, director of the ACLU-NH Immigrants’ Rights Project, said, “Birthright citizenship is the law of the land — period. Cruel attacks on this core constitutional right must not be allowed to stand.”  Molly Curren Rowles, executive director of ACLU of Maine, said the US Supreme Court reaffirmed “the plain language of the Constitution in June, making it clear that neither the president nor Congress can end birthright citizenship.  “We’ll continue defending the Constitution and the core principles reflected in the 14th Amendment: that with few exceptions, every baby born on US soil is a US citizen,” she said. Trump said his new executive order would deny birthright citizenship to children born to foreign government employees, “alien enemies” and so-called “birth tourists.”  “The privilege of United States citizenship remains a priceless and profound gift,” he said. “Since my first day in office, my administration has guarded against the risks posed by malign foreign actors who attempt to swindle American citizens by taking advantage of the generosity of our nation.”  He noted that, on June 30, 2026, the US Supreme Court decided in Trump v. Barbara, that the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution extends the privilege of citizenship to children born to parents in the United States “for whom no extraterritorial fiction applie[s].”  “This order identifies, non-exhaustively, and prescribes action concerning certain categories of children of aliens who do not fall within the rule of birthright citizenship as announced by the Supreme Court,” said Trump, adding that “it is the policy of the United States that no executive department or agency shall issue documents recognizing United States citizenship to, or accept documents issued by State, local, or other governments or authorities purporting to recognize United States citizenship regarding, persons when neither parent of that person is a citizen and any of the following applies.”  He listed those as: “Either parent of that person is an alien enemy, defined to include any member of a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization or Specially Designated Global Terrorist, consistent with the International Emergency Economic Powers Act; and either parent of that person is a foreign government employee, defined to include ambassadors, persons employed by a foreign embassy or consulate who are nationals of that foreign country, persons employed by a foreign government in an official capacity, and persons employed by an international organization that possess international-organization immunity.” Trump also said the following applies: “Either parent of that person engaged in a commercial transaction to purchase or access birthright citizenship for the person, or engaged in fraudulent activity to obtain citizenship, to include  when the parent(s) of the person engage in a commercial transaction to ensure that the person’s mother is present in the United States, or a territory of the United States, to give birth; or when the parent(s) engage in a commercial transaction with a surrogate present in the United States, or a territory of the United States, to give birth; (and) the person is born in a territory or territorial waters of the United States where citizenship is not conferred by federal statute.”  A US Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesperson said in a statement that the DOJ is “confident in the lawful authority underlying President Trump’s Executive Orders on birthright citizenship and birth tourism, and will vigorously defend them in court.
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