President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday published new visa rules aimed at restricting “birth tourism”, in which women travel to the United States to give birth so their children can have a coveted US passport.
Those with medical needs will be treated like other foreigners coming to the US for medical treatment and must prove they have the money to pay for it – including transportation and living expenses.
The State Department “does not believe that visiting the United States for the primary purpose of obtaining US citizenship for a child, by giving birth in the United States – an activity commonly referred to as ‘birth tourism’ – is a legitimate activity for pleasure or of a recreational nature,” according to the new rules, which take effect Friday.
Trump’s administration has been restricting all forms of immigration, but Trump has been particularly plagued by the issue of birthright citizenship – anyone born in the US is considered a citizen, under the Constitution. The Republican president has railed against the practice and threatened to end it, but scholars and members of his administration have said it is not so easy to do.
Consular officers do not have the right to ask during visa interviews whether a woman is pregnant or intends to become so. But they would still have to determine whether a visa applicant would be coming to the US primarily to give birth.
Critics say in addition to a rule that is hard to enforce, such restrictions unfairly target women.
“Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse,” she tweeted. “This is a new low.”
“An entire ‘birth tourism’ industry has evolved to assist pregnant women from other countries to come to the United States to obtain US citizenship for their children by giving birth in the United States, and thereby entitle their children to the benefits of US citizenship,” according to the State Department rules.
“This rule will help eliminate the criminal activity associated with the birth tourism industry,” according to the rules. “The recent federal indictments describe birth tourism schemes in which foreign nationals applied for visitor visas to come to the United States and lied to consular officers about the duration of their trips, where they would stay, and their purpose of travel.”
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