Sen. Scott introduces bill to crack down on birth tourism

Washington — U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) today introduced legislation targeting the commercial birth tourism industry and the misuse of U.S. temporary travel programs. The Birth Tourism Elimination Act would prohibit foreign nationals from using certain temporary travel programs for the primary purpose of giving birth in the United States to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children and strengthen enforcement against those who facilitate the practice.

“American citizenship is not for sale, and foreign nationals have no right to buy citizenship for their children.”

Federal prosecutors have uncovered organized birth tourism operations catering to Chinese nationals, including operations that charged customers tens of thousands of dollars to travel to the United States to give birth. In one case, a birth tourism company, You Win USA Vacation Services Corp., advertised that it had assisted more than 500 Chinese birth tourism customers, used 20 apartments in California, and charged customers between $40,000 and $80,000. The company received $3 million in international wire transfers from China over two years.

“American citizenship is not for sale, and foreign nationals have no right to buy citizenship for their children,” said Sen. Scott. “The birth tourism industry has disrespected what it means to be an American by selling and profiting from the freedoms and values that men and women across our country died for. We are blessed to live in the greatest nation on God’s green Earth, and my bill makes it clear that our temporary travel programs cannot be exploited for the purpose of obtaining American citizenship.”

The legislation follows the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Barbara, which held that, under the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause, children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and are citizens at birth.

Rather than changing who qualifies for birthright citizenship, the Birth Tourism Elimination Act targets the practice before an individual enters the United States and strengthens enforcement against the commercial operations that facilitate it. The bill would codify the Department of State’s 2020 restriction on using B visas primarily for birth tourism and expand enforcement across other temporary entry programs, such as the Visa Waiver Program.

The legislation does not apply the restriction to every visa category, protecting women whose pregnancies or childbirth are incidental to their legitimate presence in the United States for employment, education, or other purposes, and are not engaged in the birth tourism industry.

Read the full text of the legislation here.

Background:

• Birth tourism is a tactic used by foreign nationals to obtain citizenship for their children by traveling to the U.S. temporarily to give birth, obtaining citizenship for their child, and then returning to their homes abroad to raise their children.
• The State Department adopted a rule in 2020 restricting B visas when a consular officer has reason to believe an applicant is traveling primarily to give birth in the United States to obtain citizenship for a child.
  • The Birth Tourism Elimination Act would put that restriction into federal law while establishing additional enforcement authorities beyond the visa application.
• A 2022 report by the Senate Homeland Security Committee examined several companies catering primarily to Chinese and Russian clients, detailing packages that included housing, transportation, medical arrangements, and assistance navigating the U.S. immigration process.
• Following the Supreme Court’s ruling on birthright citizenship, Senator Scott announced he would introduce legislation to end the birth tourism industry.