State Department Says It Discovered, Dismantled ‘Sophisticated’ Birth Tourism Schemes, Revoked Hundreds of Visas

The State Department says it has discovered and shut down multiple “birth tourism networks” and revoked hundreds of visas. President Trump has raised concerns about birth tourism — the practice of pregnant women from other countries traveling to America to give birth, thus granting their children citizenship — in his push to curtail birthright citizenship.On Wednesday, the State Department wrote on its official X account, “The State Department is defending the integrity of U.S. citizenship by ending illegal birth tourism schemes.”The department said an American embassy in “West Africa” discovered a “sophisticated birth tourism network of more than 100 foreign nationals using fraudulent documents and visa ‘fixers’ to get themselves visas in order to get U.S. citizenship for their children.”“We shut it down, revoked these foreign nationals’ visas, and are coordinating with local authorities to systematically identify and cut off any similar operations,” the department added. Staffers at an embassy in an unspecified European country also discovered more than “400 suspected birth tourism cases since 2024,” according to the State Department.“A U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right. The State Department is taking action around the world to stop this abuse, dismantle birth tourism networks, and hold accountable those who try to scam our system,” the State Department said on X. Republicans in Congress hailed the State Department’s post. Congressman Andy Ogles wrote on X, “This is a significant win. U.S. citizenship is a privilege NOT a right. Under President Trump protecting American sovereignty is a primary objective.”Senator Mike Lee said, “Another excellent standard set by the Trump administration. We cannot allow foreigners to treat U.S. citizenship like ‘stealing a base.’”Mr. Trump took steps to crack down on birth tourism during his first term. In 2020, he directed the State Department not to issue visas to individuals suspected of traveling to America for birth tourism, arguing the practice endangers national security and overburdens the healthcare system. In May, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, James Comer, and the chairman of the Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses, Brandon Gill, announced an investigation into four entities in America accused of facilitating birth tourism and profiting from it.“It should appall every American to know that there is a thriving birth tourism economy on our soil, perpetuated by foreign nationals who undermine our sovereignty and have no regard for our rule of law,” Mr. Gill said. “Our task force is demanding answers from the business who aid and abet this threat to our national security.”Mr. Comer said that “most foreign nationals” engaged in birth tourism come from China and Russia, which he said raises national security concerns.A think tank that advocates for low immigration levels, the Center for Immigration Studies, estimated in a February 2025 report that roughly 70,000 births in 2023 could be attributed to foreign visitors, which is less than 2 percent of the 3.5 million births reported that year. Some organizations that favor higher levels of immigration argue that the figure is much lower and that the issue of birth tourism has been blown out of proportion. A think tank that favors immigration, the Migration Policy Institute, said in an April 2026 report that the number of births attributed to birth tourism is much lower than the Center for Immigration Studies’ estimate, putting the number around 26,000 births annually.

State Department Says It Discovered, Dismantled ‘Sophisticated’ Birth Tourism Schemes, Revoked Hundreds of Visas

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