The Donald Trump administration has launched a new nationwide campaign to crack down on “birth tourism” rings—a practice where pregnant women are brought to the U.S. to give birth to obtain citizenship.
According to internal documents accessed by Reuters, ICE has directed investigative units to implement a program called the “Birth Tourism Initiative” starting this week.
The campaign directly targets networks believed to assist pregnant women in misrepresenting visa applications to enter the U.S. for the purpose of giving birth so that children receive birthright citizenship. This is part of the government's effort to tighten visa policies for those at risk of fraud.
🎯 Focus: Striking organized rings and visa fraud
According to the directive, the Homeland Security Investigations branch will focus on detecting and dismantling:
- Intermediary organizations bringing people into the U.S. to give birth
- Visa application fraud
- Related financial activities
- Networks operating undercover “maternity houses”
While giving birth in the U.S. is not against the law, authorities emphasized that visa fraud or large-scale organized activities could face criminal prosecution.
⚖️ Background: Controversy over birthright citizenship
The Trump administration views this issue as a significant reason to tighten immigration policies and reconsider birthright citizenship.
Government spokesperson Anna Kelly stated:
“Uncontrolled birth tourism places a significant burden on taxpayers and affects national security.”
On his first day in office in 2025, President Trump signed an executive order requiring federal agencies not to recognize citizenship for children born in the U.S. if their parents are not citizens or legal permanent residents.
However, many federal judges have blocked this order, and the case has now been brought to the Supreme Court of the United States for review.
📊 Actual scale remains unclear, but precedents exist
There are currently no official figures on the number of people participating in “birth tourism.”
According to the Center for Immigration Studies, there were approximately 20,000–25,000 cases per year between 2016 and 2017.
Compared to the 3.6 million births in the U.S. in 2025, this figure represents only a small percentage, yet it is still considered a policy priority.
Previously:
- 2019: Over 12 people were prosecuted for operating “maternity houses” in California, a state that is also currently allocating $35 million to support immigrants amid crackdowns.
- Dongyuan Li pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 months in prison.
- Chao Edwin Chen was sentenced to 3 years but had already left the U.S.
🔍 Campaign objectives
According to ICE, the new campaign aims to:
- Protect the transparency of the immigration system
- Prevent large-scale fraud
- Dismantle organized rings
Nevertheless, the number of detectable cases remains unclear.
