US cracks down on 'birth tourism', warns of visa fraud, money laundering charges: What it means

United States department of justice on Tuesday instructed federal prosecutors to make investigations into “birth tourism” a priority, hours after the Supreme Court blocked President Donald Trump’s bid to curtail birthright citizenship.In a memo circulated to all DOJ employees and later posted on social media, senior department official Colin McDonald said individuals who enter the United States “under false pretenses” to give birth and obtain citizenship for their child could face criminal charges under statutes covering visa fraud, money laundering, identity theft and wire fraud, as reported by news agency Reuters.“The department of justice will zealously protect the sanctity of United States citizenship by investigating and prosecuting those who fraudulently exploit our immigration system,” McDonald wrote in the memo.Prosecutors have also been told to coordinate with the department of homeland security, which in April launched a “Birth Tourism Initiative” directing its investigative agents to focus on the practice.The DOJ's memo noted that prior enforcement efforts have centered largely on visa fraud charges but said other statutes could now be brought to bear against the practice.What is birth tourism?The justice department had argued in defending Trump's order that birthright citizenship encourages birth tourism, a practice in which pregnant foreign nationals with no substantial ties to the US travel there specifically to deliver their children and secure citizenship for them. The issue also featured in a dissent written Tuesday by conservative Justice Clarence Thomas.A 2022 minority staff report from the senate committee on homeland security and governmental affairs found that parents pursuing this route often cite the educational and career advantages of US citizenship, treating it as a long-term investment in their child's future.The report also found that some hospitals wrote off large portions of billed costs, occasionally leaving state governments to cover the remaining balance, and that some tourists made repeat trips to secure citizenship for more than one child.It further documented a cottage industry of specialized agencies, mostly serving clients from China and Russia, that arranged visa consultations, housing and hospital bookings for pregnant travelers, with packages ranging from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands for premium services.State department policy on the issue has shifted over time. A 2015 cable had directed consular officers to treat birth tourists the same as other medical travelers, easing visa scrutiny.That changed in January 2020, when the department barred travelers from receiving a B-2 visa if their primary purpose was to obtain citizenship for a child through birth in the US.Court ruling and Trump's pushbackThis comes hours after a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling struck down Trump's executive order, which had sought to deny automatic citizenship to children born on US soil to parents who are neither citizens nor lawful permanent residents.The decision reaffirmed the longstanding constitutional guarantee of citizenship for nearly all individuals born in the country, with exceptions for children of foreign diplomats or members of invading forces.Meanwhile, Trump brushed aside the Supreme Court's judgment rejecting his executive order seeking to restrict birthright citizenship.Calling the ruling "too bad" for America, Trump argued that Republicans could "easily make it up" through legislation without resorting to the "long and unwieldy Constitutional Amendment"."Too bad, Republicans, because this has to do with the BABIES of SLAVES (same year! ), not the babies of people wanting to SCAM our Country, but we can easily make it up in Congress through Legislation, with the support of the President, that has now been determined during this process. No long and unwieldy Constitutional Amendment is necessary!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.He further wrote: "Congress should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our Country, Birthright Citizenship. They will have my Complete and Total Support!"Catch the latest world news and top headlines. Download the TOI App.