Following a Supreme Court rejection of his birthright citizenship restrictions, President Donald Trump shifted focus to China and alleged birth tourism. The Department of Justice has directed prosecutors to investigate such schemes, while lawmakers consider new legislation.
The US Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s attempt to restrict birthright citizenship. Trump responded with a social media post congratulating President Xi and China on what he called their “massive Birthright Citizenship WIN.”
In the hours after the post, the Department of Justice instructed federal prosecutors to prioritise investigations of so-called “birth tourism” schemes. Days later, US House Speaker Mike Johnson said lawmakers were examining legislation addressing women who enter the country to give birth.
Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office directing agencies to deny citizenship documents to children born in the US to parents who were undocumented or on temporary visas. Available figures indicate births to women living in China represent a minute share of US births, and no federal data set directly measures birth tourism.
