The United States has announced new visa restrictions targeting people who knowingly engage in or facilitate “birth tourism” to the country.
US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, announced the policy on Wednesday, saying it would apply to owners, operators and managers of commercial birth tourism networks, visa “fixers” who coach applicants to commit fraud, and foreign medical providers who knowingly facilitate such travel.
Rubio said the policy was being implemented under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act.
“Foreign commercial birth tourism networks have exploited the U.S. immigration system to sell U.S. citizenship for profit.
“These networks advertise and coach foreign nationals to lie on U.S. visa applications and collect tens of thousands of dollars to arrange births on American soil for the sole purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship,” Rubio said in a statement.
He said the new policy would target “individuals who knowingly engage in, have engaged in, or facilitate birth tourism to the United States”.
According to Rubio, those affected would include “owners, operators, and managers of commercial birth tourism facilitation networks, visa ‘fixers’ who coach applicants to commit fraud, foreign medical providers who knowingly abet and facilitate such travel and the fraudulent use of our Medicaid system, and other individuals who support, abet, and enable commercial birth tourism.”
Rubio said the Trump administration was using the policy to protect the integrity of the US immigration system and prevent what it described as the exploitation of public benefits.
“The Trump Administration is using every tool at our disposal to defend the integrity of U.S. citizenship, protect American public benefits and U.S. taxpayers from exploitation, and safeguard our national security.”
He added, “By restricting visa issuance of those who both engage in and profit from this fraud, we are sending a clear message: The United States will not allow foreigners to exploit our immigration system and violate the sanctity of U.S. citizenship.”
The State Department said certain family members could also be covered by the restrictions.
Birth tourism refers to foreigners travelling to the US primarily to give birth so that their children can obtain US citizenship. The US State Department already states that birth tourism is not a permissible purpose for obtaining a visitor visa.
The latest announcement builds on the Trump administration’s earlier measures targeting birth tourism. In August, the White House highlighted comments by Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Adviser, Stephen Miller, that birth tourism had been banned and that people could no longer obtain visas for that purpose.
The administration has also pursued broader changes to US immigration and visa screening policies.
Rubio’s announcement did not state that all foreign nationals seeking to give birth in the US would be subject to the new restriction. Rather, it specifically targets people who knowingly participate in, facilitate or profit from commercial birth tourism.