US Congress discusses birth tourism and birthright citizenship
The US House of Representatives held two hearings this week on birthright citizenship and birth tourism. During the discussions, Republicans mentioned China and Russia. As reported by the South China Morning Post, Wednesday's Judiciary Committee hearing concerned the Supreme Court's June ruling in Trump v. Barbara and possible legislative steps.
Texas Republican Chip Roy said that demand for US citizenship for children of Chinese citizens, in his words, encourages unscrupulous companies to assist such people for profit. Another Republican congressman from Texas, Brandon Gill, said at Tuesday's hearing that foreigners, including those from China and Russia, use the principle of birthright citizenship for their own benefit.
Dispute over the scale of the phenomenon
Pennsylvania Democrat Mary Gay Scanlon disputed these claims. She said that even witnesses invited by Republicans had not demonstrated evidence that birth tourism is significant or widespread.
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said in a statement that nearly 26,000 children are born each year to women holding tourist visas. According to the committee's estimate, about 70,000 births in 2023 were to women temporarily staying in the United States.
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At the same time, there is no federal database to measure birth tourism, and available estimates differ substantially. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University estimated that in 2014–2024, such cases accounted for less than 0.3% of all births in the United States annually. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 3.6 million births were registered in the country in 2023.
Attempts to restrict birthright citizenship
On the first day after returning to the White House in 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies not to recognize citizenship for children born in the United States to parents without documents or with temporary status. In a six-to-three decision, the Supreme Court blocked the order, ruling that such children are citizens at birth under the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.
In August, Trump signed two more executive orders. One provided for investigations into alleged birth tourism schemes, possible legal action against companies facilitating such practices, and stricter visa screening. Another document directed federal agencies to examine further legal restrictions on categories of children whom the administration considers ineligible for birthright citizenship.
