Trump moves to restrict birthright citizenship via executive order

While no federal law currently prohibits birth tourism, the administration is building on a 2020 regulation that restricted the use of business and tourist visas for the explicit purpose of childbirth. Individuals participating in these schemes currently face potential prosecution for fraud, though the government maintains no official data on the frequency of these births or their specific economic impact on taxpayers.

Estimates remain speculative. The Center for Immigration Studies previously calculated that between 20,000 and 25,000 mothers traveled to the U.S. for such purposes between 2016 and 2017. These figures represent a small fraction of the broader landscape, as the United States recorded 3.6 million total births in 2025. The scope of the new orders may eventually extend to include children born in U.S. territories, further tightening access to citizenship under the current administration.