The crossing of borders to give birth in the United States has become a central issue in the U.S. government’s immigration policy. Through an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, the creation of an interagency task force, and enforcement operations carried out by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the U.S. administration is seeking to put an end to so-called “birth tourism.”
What is “birth tourism”?
The concept of birth tourism or maternity tourism refers to the practice of foreigners improperly using tourist or visitor visas to enter U.S. territory with the primary purpose of giving birth, allowing their children to obtain citizenship by birth.
According to the Department of State, companies and facilitators operate around this phenomenon, offering packages to give birth in the United States that include assistance with obtaining visas and hospital arrangements.
Through his account on the social media platform X, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated:
“U.S. citizenship is not for sale. Elaborate birth tourism networks are profiting from exploiting U.S. laws: training foreigners to defraud the visa system, arranging travel and accommodations, and even falsifying documents.”
Why and how is the Donald Trump administration seeking to ban it?
The U.S. administration argues that this practice undermines the integrity of the immigration system. For this reason, the White House has implemented a series of operational and legal control measures:
- Creation of the Task Force for the Prevention of Birth Tourism: Headed by the Department of State in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, this group will review visa holders’ activities around the world, analyze travel histories, and coordinate information to identify irregular cases and dismantle networks that profit from the scheme. Regarding this organization, Marco Rubio added that it “will use every tool available to dismantle birth tourism networks and defend the integrity of U.S. citizenship.”
- Mass visa revocations: The Department of State has withdrawn more than 600 visas from foreigners linked to this practice worldwide.
- Attempts at retroactive revocation: President Donald Trump has even ordered attempts to revoke birthright U.S. citizenship retroactively from individuals born to mothers who entered the country with tourist or visitor visas.
The impact on the border: El Paso and Ciudad Juárez
In Mexican border communities, crossing the border for childbirth medical care has been a common practice. As a precedent, three of the most recent governors of the state of Baja California — Ernesto Ruffo Appel, Eugenio Elorduy, and Roberto de Lamadrid — were born in California while their parents resided in Mexico.
However, following the executive order issued by the U.S. president, CBP began imposing immediate sanctions at ports of entry between Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and El Paso, Texas:
- 94 visas revoked within 24 hours: The visas were canceled for fathers and mothers of babies born in the United States when they attempted to cross the border.
- Interceptions of cross-border students: Border authorities detained parents and their children in expedited vehicle lanes while they were heading to classes at Cathedral High School in El Paso, a private Catholic school operated by the De La Salle Brothers with an annual tuition cost of approximately $9,500.
Amid the legal uncertainty, Texas immigration attorney Arturo Vázquez publicly recommended that residents of the border region avoid crossing if they find themselves in this situation:
“My suggestion is that they not come to the United States until the federal judge grants an injunction directed at the border authorities.”
The legal response: ACLU class-action lawsuit
In response to the mass withdrawal of documents, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is preparing a joint lawsuit in federal court.
Attorney Arturo Vázquez said that in a single day he collected more than 100 cases involving affected families in El Paso, bringing the total to approximately 200 cases so far.
The ACLU will soon contact those affected to collect their full names and dates of birth. The legal action seeks to ask U.S. courts to order the Department of State to restore the guarantees and documents of those affected.
“The purpose is to ask the U.S. judge to order the Department of State to issue a new visa to everyone whose document was revoked, without requiring them to apply or pay,” Vázquez explained.
The formal lawsuit is expected to be filed in September before the federal courts.
Source: imagenradio
