After the Supreme Court left birthright citizenship intact, Republican lawmakers and Trump administration officials are shifting their focus toward limiting “birth tourism” through visa restrictions, immigration enforcement, and new legislation.
Republicans are considering several ideas to stop pregnant foreigners from entering the United States and giving birth on U.S. soil. The proposals follow Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling to uphold birthright citizenship as a constitutional right.
“If you have birthright citizenship, it means if a person comes here nine months pregnant to go look around at some things, in a couple of weeks that is the mother of a lifetime American citizen and a direct line into American cash and welfare for the rest of that child’s life,” Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser, told Fox News on Tuesday. “There’s a lot of things we’re going to have to take a hard look at.”
Following the court’s 6-3 ruling to affirm the longstanding practice of granting citizenship to nearly all babies born on U.S. soil, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Congress should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our country, Birthright Citizenship. They will have my Complete and Total Support!”
On Tuesday, Rep. Andy Ogles said he will propose the Anchors Away Act — a bill that would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act “to clarify the classes of individuals born in the United States who are nationals and citizens of the United States at birth and to provide for the inadmissibility of certain pregnant aliens seeking admission as nonimmigrants primarily to obtain United States Citizenship for a child, and for other purposes.”
In a post on X Tuesday, Ogles wrote: “SCOTUS betrayed America. It’s time to bar pregnant foreigners from coming to this country. We are being colonized. Anchors Away!”
“Birth tourism” is the practice of foreign nationals coming to the U.S. solely to give birth so the child is automatically granted American citizenship.
Estimates vary, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that about 9,000 of the 3.5 million babies born in 2024 were to foreign residents. The conservative Center for Immigration Studies puts the number closer to 70,000 while the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institutes says it’s up to 26,000 annually.
Ardent supporters of birthright citizenship, Democratic legislators generally recognize birth tourism but believe existing immigration laws and targeted enforcement can stop visibly pregnant foreigners from entering the country for the sole purpose of gaining citizenship for their babies, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
While Democratic voted celebrated Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling, some suspected further attacks on birthright citizenship from the Trump administration.
“This is certainly not the end of Trump’s attacks on our Constitution, our democracy, and the notion of what it means to be an American,” Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., wrote on X. Padilla was born to Mexican immigrants on U.S. soil.
Trump wrote several posts about the SCOTUS ruling on Tuesday. In one, he congratulated Chinese President Xi Jinping on the “massive Birthright Citizenship WIN!,” implying that many of the babies born on U.S. soil to foreign mothers are Chinese.
US Customs and Immigration Enforcement says tourists cannot legally enter the U.S. for the express purpose of giving birth. In April, Reuters reported that ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations started ordering its agents to target networks that enable pregnant noncitizens giving birth in the U.S.
“You’re not going on vacation in an emergency in late-term pregnancy,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Fox News on Tuesday. “So those are some issues that we can look at.”
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., suggested on X on Tuesday: “The State Department should IMMEDIATELY cease to give out visas to pregnant applicants. Sorry, Birth Tourism cannot continue.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said at an unrelated news conference Wednesday that birth tourism is a booming industry that will continue following the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“There’s other things DHS can do, that the federal government can do in the visa process and the application process to try to minimize or limit the opportunity of folks coming here, not to visit, not to do what they’re saying they’re doing on their tourist visa, but just to have a baby that can then be a U.S. citizen.
Blanche added that the Justice Department has to make sure its agents are working with the FBI to focus on stopping the practice.
