The Trump administration has formally launched a task force aimed at ending so-called birth tourism, the practice of traveling to the United States to give birth so a child can obtain U.S. citizenship. The State Department said it will use all available tools to stop what it described as an abuse of U.S. immigration law.[1]
The task force will share information with multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, and analyze travel histories of people around the world to track birth tourism cases. It also plans to immediately revoke visas for anyone involved in or organizing the practice and work to dismantle related organizations.[1]
The department said the task force has already revoked more than 600 visas tied to visa abuse.[1] The move follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Aug. 6 that seeks to deny citizenship to children born to foreign women who entered the United States for birth tourism.[1][2]
The administration has broadened immigration enforcement beyond sham marriages to include birth tourism, as it steps up efforts against what it views as fraud in the visa system.[1][2]
