Trump blocks birth tourism visas as White House renews birthright citizenship fight

The Trump administration has barred foreign nationals from obtaining US visas for the purpose of travelling to America to give birth and secure citizenship for their children. The White House shared the position on Saturday through Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller.

Miller described the measure as a major immigration policy shift and one of the administration's most important actions. He said the executive order signed by President Trump effectively prohibits visas for what the administration calls the fraudulent purpose of birth tourism.

What the executive order does

The administration uses the term birth tourism to describe foreign nationals travelling to the United States with the intention of giving birth so their children can obtain US citizenship. Miller said immigration authorities would rely on existing provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act to decide whether applicants were genuinely visiting as tourists or had concealed plans to give birth.

He argued that people who tell consular officers they are travelling for tourism while intending to give birth could be considered to have committed fraud against the government. The move follows Trump's renewed efforts to restrict birthright citizenship after the US Supreme Court rejected an earlier attempt to end the policy through executive action.

Trump has repeatedly criticised birthright citizenship, claiming that large numbers of people exploit the policy. He called the Supreme Court's earlier decision unfortunate and said his administration was making adjustments after the ruling.

Scale of birth tourism questioned

Questions remain over how widespread birth tourism is in the US. During Supreme Court proceedings, Solicitor General John Sauer acknowledged that the government did not know the exact number of people involved, despite citing various media and congressional estimates.

Under the US system, citizenship by birth is generally linked to place of birth, although citizenship laws vary widely around the world.

Miller's education claims

In a separate development, Miller linked reported reading difficulties among New York schoolchildren to immigration. He cited figures he posted on X, claiming that a significant proportion of children in the state were foreign-born or children of migrants, and suggested immigration was being overlooked in education debates.

Miller did not provide a source for the figures, and his post did not establish a direct connection between immigration and the reading performance of New York pupils.