What is maternity tourism? Trump administration’s new target after Supreme Court upholds birthright | Today’s news
The US Department of Justice is now targeting “birth tourism schemes” after the Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s attempt to limit first-born citizenship in the United States.
After a setback in court, the US Department of Justice redirected its policy to focus on women who come to the US only to give birth, so that their child will automatically be a citizen.
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Justice Department official Colin McDonald told staff in a memo that people who come to the U.S. under “false pretenses” to give birth and secure citizenship for their child could face criminal charges under laws prohibiting visa fraud, money laundering, identity theft and wire fraud.
What is maternity tourism?
“Birth tourism” refers to when pregnant foreign nationals without long-term ties to the United States enter the country to give birth so their children can gain citizenship.
The Justice Department defended Trump’s order, arguing that first-born citizenship encourages so-called “birth tourism.” McDonald’s memo claimed that “birth tourism exploits our immigration system and violates criminal law.”
What did the DoJ say?
In the memo, McDonald said the Justice Department will investigate and hold accountable those who engage in this illegal conduct, as well as those who solicit and sell these criminal services to others.
He also ordered all United States attorneys and the Criminal Division to work with the Department of Homeland Security to “prioritize the investigation and prosecution of birth tourism schemes.”
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The memo shared on X read, “The Department of Justice will zealously protect the sanctity of United States citizenship by investigating and prosecuting those who fraudulently abuse our immigration system.”
Among other tools, the department can prosecute people who lie on their visa applications about why they are coming to the US.
The Justice Department memo is said to be a sign that the Trump administration intends to remain focused on the issue as part of its tough approach to immigration despite the court setback.
Is maternity tourism illegal?
So-called ‘maternity tourism’ itself is not illegal under any US law, but using the visa solely for that purpose or abusing the visa is not permitted.
The US Embassy in India had he said in 2025, “U.S. consular officials will deny tourist visa applications if they believe the primary purpose of the trip is to give birth to a child in the United States in order to obtain U.S. citizenship. That is not allowed.”
The Trump administration has highlighted birth tourism, particularly from China, to justify its attempt to challenge first-born citizenship.
McDonald’s memo says: “United States criminal law already prohibits the conduct inherent in many of these so-called ‘birth tourism’ schemes. For example, many such schemes begin with a false visa application, lying about the purpose or length of travel to the United States – in violation of 18 USC § 1546.”
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McDonald gave a few examples: “In 2024, Michael Wei Yueh Liu and Jing Dong were sentenced to 41 months in prison for operating a birth tourism scheme with the company ‘USA Happy Baby Inc’ that charged Chinese clients tens of thousands of dollars to assist in giving birth in the United States.
What does the expert say?
U.S. immigration attorney Brad Bernstein explained that if immigration officials determine that the sole purpose of visiting the U.S. is to have a child, then they can be denied entry or have their visa revoked.
“However, the following is allowed: ✔️ Entering on a tourist visa for medical treatment related to pregnancy ✔️ Covering all medical expenses yourself (without government assistance)” – US immigration attorney Brad Bernstein
“Many try to bend the rules, but the risks are high. If officials believe you are abusing your visa, you may be banned from traveling to the US in the future,” he said.
But experts say it’s relatively small compared to the more than 250,000 annual births of children to undocumented immigrants or transient residents in the United States.
SC rejects Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship
Earlier, in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s executive order that would have prevented children born in the US from automatically becoming citizens if neither parent is a US citizen or lawful permanent resident.
Trump’s order sought to limit birthrights to children with at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or green card holder, affecting an estimated 250,000 children born to undocumented immigrants and temporary visitors each year.
The Supreme Court’s latest decision upheld a longstanding right to citizenship for nearly everyone born in the US.
The court said the executive order, issued by Trump hours after his inauguration last year, cannot be compared to the 14th Amendment, which has long been understood to guarantee citizenship to virtually anyone born on American soil.
“Citizenship then and now was a right to have rights — to participate freely in our political community,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court, according to Bloomberg.
“The framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to every freeborn person in this country. We keep that promise today,” Roberts added.
