US Tightens Enforcement Against Birth Tourism Practices

The United States has revoked 150 visas in recent days to prevent foreign nationals from travelling to the country with the aim of giving birth there and obtaining US citizenship for their children, according to State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department had established a task force to prevent birth tourism practices and had revoked 600 visas. “In just a few days since we announced this task force, the number has actually reached more than 750 visas revoked. An additional 150 visas have been revoked in just the last few days,” Pigott said in an interview with Fox News.

He said the measures target members of birth tourism networks, as well as people who enter the US on visas for purposes other than those they declared, then give birth to obtain US citizenship for their children.

“We have examples of people who came to the United States claiming they would be on holiday for a week, but stayed up to five months and received guidance on how to defraud the American people and not pay their medical bills,” Pigott added.

In early August, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning birth tourism to the country. The enforcement measures outlined in the policy include denial of entry, visa revocation, deportation, and a permanent ban on travel to the US for foreign nationals involved in the practice.

Chris Ingram, principal and managing attorney at a California-based firm, said US authorities can deport pregnant foreign women as part of the enforcement efforts against the practice.