The United States (U.S) Department of Justice (DOJ) has ordered federal prosecutors to launch a crackdown on “birth tourism” networks.
The directive came after the U.S Supreme Court delivered a decisive 6-3 ruling in Trump v. Barbara.
The decision struck down Executive Order 14160, U.S President Donald Trump’s attempt to end automatic birthright citizenship for children born to undocumented immigrants or temporary visitors.
While the Supreme Court effectively shielded the children by preserving the 14th Amendment’s jus soli (right of the soil) principle, the DOJ is shifting its crosshairs to the lucrative industry that facilitates these births under pretenses.
This is as the Justice Department has sent a letter to all U.S attorneys directing them to prioritize investigations and prosecution of “birth tourism schemes.”
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that birth tourism refers to the practice of foreign nationals traveling to the United States primarily to give birth so their child automatically acquires US citizenship.
“Birth tourism schemes exploit our immigration laws and often violate our criminal laws,” the Justice Department said.
“The Department of Justice will prioritize the prosecutions of birth tourism schemes across the country. Actors seeking to exploit loopholes to obtain automatic citizenship for their children pose a national security threat and will be brought to justice.”
The Justice Department has previously brought cases against people it has accused of bringing foreign nationals to the United States to deliver their babies.
“In 2024, a husband and wife, Michael Wei Yueh Liu and Jing Dong, were each sentenced to 41 months’ imprisonment for operating a birth tourism scheme with a business named ‘USA Happy Baby Inc.’ that charged Chinese clients tens of thousands of dollars to help them give birth in the United States,” the memo said.
The couple, according to the Justice Department, guided clients through customs, assisted in obtaining visas, and provided housing and transportation.
In 2022, another man, Ibrahim Aksakal, was sentenced to 27 months’ imprisonment for conspiring to commit healthcare and wire fraud after advertising a similar service on Turkish-language social media pages.
The memo written by Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald directs US attorneys to prioritize bringing criminal cases like these.
