Trump pushes lawmakers to create birthright citizenship exceptions
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department will prioritize investigating and prosecuting so-called “birth tourism” operations, one day after the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship.
Blanche said the Justice Department will focus on combating businesses and organizations that facilitate the practice of traveling to the U.S. to give birth, even after the Supreme Court left birthright citizenship intact.
The term “birth tourism” refers to tourists, temporary visitors or undocumented immigrants traveling to the U.S. primarily to give birth, securing birthright citizenship for their children under the 14th Amendment. MSI previously reported that the administration was prioritizing birth tourism cases in the wake of the court’s ruling.
During oral arguments in the Supreme Court case on birthright citizenship in April, the government’s lawyer D John Sauer conceded that no one knew for sure how significant a problem birth tourism actually is.
Trump is now pushing lawmakers to create new legislation that would establish exceptions to birthright citizenship for children born to parents who do not have permanent legal status in the United States, Blanche said.