Hours after the Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s effort to limit birthright citizenship by executive order, the Trump administration announced a new strategy to combat what it calls widespread abuse of the nation’s immigration system. Federal officials say they will intensify efforts to dismantle foreign birth tourism networks that exploit automatic U.S. citizenship for children born on American soil.
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From the Daily Caller:
The Trump administration met the Supreme Court’s constitutional enshrinement of birthright citizenship with a vow to crack down on foreign birth tourism schemes.
A statement shared by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday, hours after the court’s decision, said the department will make the prosecution of these schemes a priority across the country.
The scheme involves expecting women of foreign origin visiting the U.S., where they give birth to what is sometimes referred to as an “anchor baby” due to the child’s automatic citizenship status, which can then be exploited by the child’s family to obtain citizenship or visas.
The Justice Department said birth tourism operations often involve immigration fraud and other criminal activity, arguing that organized networks have turned a constitutional protection into a business model. Federal officials contend that these operations undermine the integrity of the immigration system while creating potential national security concerns.
The State Department has already begun taking steps to address the issue overseas. In June, it announced that visitor visas would no longer be issued to applicants whose primary purpose for traveling to the United States is to give birth so their child can obtain U.S. citizenship. Officials also reported disrupting birth tourism networks operating in West Africa, Europe, and North Africa, while Homeland Security Investigations has pledged to target the financial and criminal organizations that facilitate the practice.
“A U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right,” the statement concluded, adding that the department is “taking action around the world to stop this abuse, dismantle birth tourism networks, and hold accountable those who try to scam our system.”
President Trump has also urged Congress to revisit the issue legislatively following the Supreme Court’s ruling. While the Court held that his executive order could not alter the current interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment, the president argued that lawmakers should pursue statutory changes addressing birthright citizenship and close loopholes that encourage birth tourism.
For many Americans, the debate extends beyond constitutional interpretation to questions of national sovereignty, immigration policy, and the faithful enforcement of the law. As the administration pursues criminal networks that profit from birth tourism, let’s pray for wisdom for our leaders, justice in the enforcement of immigration laws, and policies that uphold both the rule of law and the God-given dignity of every person.
Share your prayers for our nation’s immigration system and those entrusted with enforcing our laws in the comments below.
(Excerpt from the Daily Caller. Photo Credit: Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
