U.S. embassies have started revoking visas for people who travel to the U.S. to exploit birthright citizenship, the State Department announced this week.
The U.S. Department of State is targeting sophisticated fraudsters involved in birth tourism schemes after uncovering a West Africa-linked birth tourism network.
According to State Department officials, U.S. embassies in West Africa, Europe, and North Africa found evidence of multiple plans to use fraudulent documents so pregnant women could obtain visas and travel to the U.S. to have a baby, meaning those children would automatically obtain U.S. citizenship
“Under President Trump, the State Department is defending the integrity of U.S. citizenship by ending illegal birth tourism schemes,” the State Department shared on X. “No foreigner is permitted to obtain a visitor visa for the primary purpose of acquiring U.S. citizenship for a child by giving birth in the U.S.”
Under President Trump, the State Department is defending the integrity of U.S. citizenship by ending illegal birth tourism schemes.
No foreigner is permitted to obtain a visitor visa for the primary purpose of acquiring U.S. citizenship for a child by giving birth in the U.S.
— Department of State (@StateDept) June 10, 2026
But the scam isn’t new. Previous investigations have uncovered a “sinister plot to undermine American immigration laws,” with foreign nationals traveling to the United States for the sole purpose of giving birth.
Many of them have come from China and arranged to have their baby in Texas, The Daily Wire reported.
As part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, Trump signed an executive order ending birthright citizenship after taking office in January 2025. That order also targets people involved in birth tourism.
Trump’s order has been indefinitely paused due to ongoing legal challenges that have reached the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court is expected to hand down a decision on the legality of birthright citizenship sometime in late June or early July.
In a Thursday post on Truth Social, President Trump said the United States could no longer live with what he characterized as the shackles of birthright citizenship.
“It is not economically, or otherwise, sustainable, and no other Country in the World, of consequence, does it!” Trump wrote.
During Trump’s first term, in January 2020, the U.S. government amended visitor visa regulations, allowing consular officers to deny applications when they believe the primary purpose of travel is to give birth in the United States to secure citizenship for a child.
Federal authorities maintain that obtaining a visa under false pretenses amounts to immigration fraud and undermines the integrity of the immigration system.
A U.S. embassy in West Africa uncovered a “sophisticated birth tourism network” wherein more than 100 foreign nationals were using fraudulent documents to get visas. The State Department shut down this birth tourism network and revoked the foreign nationals’ visas, according to various reports.
An embassy in North Africa revoked more than 100 visas for “birth tourist” parents who came to the United States specifically to give birth and secure U.S. citizenship for their children.
Another embassy in Europe identified over 400 cases of birth tourism since 2024. The investigation uncovered six companies that coach applicants on interviews, help set up housing in the U.S., and arrange for childbirth in the U.S.
State Department officials shut down the process and permanently banned “several fraudsters from traveling to the United States ever again,” said Sen. Jim Banks, R-Indiana,
He openly voiced support for the crackdown, sharing on X that “U.S. citizenship is a privilege, not a right,” adding “We will not be taken advantage of.”
US citizenship is a privilege, not a right, & @StateDept is taking action.
They're shutting-down birth tourism networks in W Africa, Europe, & N Africa.
They're revoking visas from these fraudsters & permanently banning them from our country.
We will not be taken advantage-of. https://t.co/oLvvaBqP95
— Senator Jim Banks (@SenatorBanks) June 10, 2026
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, also lauded the State Department and called for Homeland Security to proactively prosecute lawbreakers.
“Birth tourism is an assault on American citizenship,” Schmitt shared on X. “I have been coordinating with the Trump Administration to shut these citizenship fraud schemes down.”
Birth tourism is an assault on American citizenship.
I have been coordinating with the Trump Administration to shut these citizenship fraud schemes down.
Now I am calling on the State Department and DHS to take proactive steps to prosecute law breakers. https://t.co/3cnb6LB5MO pic.twitter.com/kXDbLwjYux
— Senator Eric Schmitt (@SenEricSchmitt) June 10, 2026
State Department officials will continue to shut down birth tourism networks and revoke visas of foreign nationals involved in the scam. U.S. embassies are also coordinating with local authorities to “systematically identify and cut off any similar operations.”
Previous investigations have uncovered evidence of birth tourism in Texas and other states, particularly among Chinese nationals.
The State of Texas sued De’Ai Postpartum Care Center in Houston for “exploiting birthright citizenship by unlawfully facilitating the invasion of Chinese nationals … for the sole purpose of giving birth.”
That center is accused of facilitating the births of more than 1,000 American-born babies, per The Daily Wire.
President Trump has been outspoken about his disdain for the policy of birthright citizenship, which gives anyone born in the U.S. automatic citizenship at birth, even if their parents are in the country on temporary visas, illegal immigrants who jumped the border, or scammers involved in birth tourism.
“We are the only Country in the World STUPID enough to allow ‘Birthright’ Citizenship!” Trump said on the day that the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case.
The Trump administration successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of the order. President Trump sat through those oral arguments in person, the first president in United States history to do so, as the main petitioner.
