United States President, Donald Trump has banned “birth tourism” , warning foreign nationals against obtaining United States visas for the purpose of travelling to the country to give birth and secure American citizenship for their children.
This was contained in a statement posted on X on Saturday, by the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Adviser, Stephen Miller. He said the practice had been prohibited by Trump’s latest executive order.
The statement read, “No one in the world is anymore allowed to obtain a visa for this fraudulent purpose.”.
It described the measure as one of the administration’s most significant actions.
“Birth tourism” refers to the practice of foreign nationals travelling to the US with the intention of giving birth there so their children can obtain US citizenship.
The development followed Trump’s signing of two executive orders targeting birthright citizenship.
The orders came after the US Supreme Court struck down his earlier attempt to end birthright citizenship through an executive order signed at the beginning of his second term.
Explaining how officials would distinguish tourists from those travelling for birth tourism, Miller said the administration would rely on provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
He alleged that individuals who claim to be tourists while intending to give birth in the US and obtain citizenship for their children would be committing fraud against the American government.
Trump has claimed that “hundreds of thousands” of people exploit birth tourism. Meanwhile , US Solicitor General John Sauer told the Supreme Court during April arguments that the actual number was unknown.
Meanwhile, Miller has also linked reported reading difficulties among New York school children to immigration.
Reacting to a New York Post report that more than half of pupils in grades three to five failed to demonstrate proficiency in a basic reading test, Miller claimed that nearly 40 per cent of New York State children were foreign-born or children of migrants.
He did not provide evidence establishing a direct connection between immigration and the reported reading performance.
The Trump administration has also proposed restrictions affecting categories of foreigners it says should not qualify for birthright citizenship, including members of foreign terrorist organisations and people acting on behalf of foreign governments.
