US tightens birth tourism crackdown: Rubio announces visa curbs as judge blocks Trump’s latest birthright citizenship bid

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced a new visa restriction policy targeting foreign nationals who engage in or facilitate commercial birth tourism, escalating the Trump administration's campaign against arrangements involving travel to the US to give birth and obtain citizenship for a child.The policy, announced on Wednesday, seeks to restrict visa issuance to individuals who knowingly engage in, profit from or facilitate commercial birth tourism. It targets operators of birth-tourism networks, visa “fixers” accused of coaching applicants to commit fraud, foreign medical providers who knowingly facilitate such travel and the fraudulent use of Medicaid, and others who support or enable the practice.The State Department said the measure is being implemented under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the secretary of state to determine that an individual's entry would have potentially serious adverse foreign-policy consequences. Certain family members of individuals covered by the restrictions may also be affected, according to the announcement.“Foreign commercial networks specializing in birth tourism have exploited the US immigration system to sell US citizenship for profit,” Rubio said, accusing such networks of advising foreign nationals to misrepresent the purpose of their travel and charging tens of thousands of dollars to arrange births on American soil.“By restricting visa issuance of those who both engage in and profit from this fraud, we are sending a clear message: The United States will not allow foreigners to exploit our immigration system and violate the sanctity of US citizenship,” he said.Court blocks Trump's latest birthright citizenship orderThe announcement comes amid an ongoing legal battle over the Trump administration's efforts to narrow birthright citizenship.On Sept 3, a federal district judge in Maryland blocked the administration from enforcing a new executive order issued by President Donald Trump on Aug 6. The order sought to restrict automatic US citizenship for certain children born in the country, including children whose parents were deemed “alien enemies”, foreign government employees or individuals involved in commercial arrangements to secure a birth in the US.US District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a preliminary injunction in a class-action case brought by immigrant families and advocacy organisations. She held that children covered by the certified class remained citizens at birth under the Supreme Court's earlier ruling.“The Supreme Court has spoken: Children in the certified class are ‘citizens at birth’,” Boardman wrote, according to reporting on the decision. The judge's ruling followed a June Supreme Court decision rejecting the administration's earlier, broader attempt to restrict birthright citizenship.The White House has defended the executive order issued in Aug, arguing that it is consistent with the Supreme Court's interpretation of birthright citizenship. The administration's legal position remains contested in court.The ruling does not invalidate Rubio's separate visa restriction announcement. The two measures involve different legal mechanisms: one concerns the eligibility of certain individuals for visas, while the other concerns whether specified categories of children can receive citizenship at birth.Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force had already revoked over 600 visasThe latest visa policy follows the establishment of a Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force by the State Department in August.According to the department's fact sheet, the task force reviews the activities of visa holders worldwide to identify birth tourism, works to revoke visas of individuals who engage in or facilitate the practice and seeks to dismantle networks that profit from commercial birth tourism.The task force also coordinates information across the State Department and other federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).The department reported that more than 600 visas had been revoked from foreign nationals worldwide. It said visa revocation action could be taken where there were indications of potential ineligibility, including misrepresentation of the purpose of travel.The task force forms part of the administration's wider efforts to target commercial birth-tourism operations and individuals suspected of facilitating immigration fraud.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.