The State Department announced Wednesday it will revoke visas and deny temporary entry to foreign nationals attempting to travel to the United States specifically to give birth and secure citizenship for their children.
The action follows investigations uncovering what officials described as coordinated birth tourism networks across multiple continents. The crackdowns involved visa revocations affecting hundreds of individuals and permanent bans on additional suspects from entering the country.
Scale of Operations
A U.S. embassy in West Africa identified a sophisticated network using fraudulent documents to obtain visas, with over 100 foreign nationals participating in the scheme, according to State Department findings. Visa revocations were issued for all individuals connected to that operation.
An embassy in North Africa revoked more than 100 visas for individuals who disclosed their primary purpose for travel was childbirth in the United States. A European embassy flagged over 400 suspected birth tourism cases within two years, with investigators tracing the activity to multiple companies providing coaching services, housing arrangements, and birth planning assistance.
Enforcement Response
The State Department said consular officers and law enforcement are deploying data analytics to locate and dismantle additional visa fraud networks. Officials have permanently banned numerous individuals from future entry to the United States.
Republican lawmakers expressed support for the enforcement action. “American citizenship is a privilege, not a right,” Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana stated Wednesday. Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri called for the Department of Homeland Security to pursue prosecutions against those involved.
Broader Citizenship Debate
The announcement occurs amid ongoing national debate regarding birthright citizenship. President Donald Trump released a statement Thursday characterizing birthright citizenship as economically unsustainable and incompatible with current policy objectives.
Trump issued an executive order in January 2025 seeking to eliminate birthright citizenship for children born to mothers present in the United States without legal status. The order is being challenged in Trump v. Barbara, currently before the Supreme Court.
Birthright citizenship, established following the Civil War to guarantee citizenship regardless of former enslavement status, remains grounded in centuries-old common-law principles that grant citizenship based on birth location rather than parental status, legal observers note.
This story has been updated. CNN’s reporting team contributed to this report.
