On Tuesday, the Supreme Court handed down a historic decision to uphold the country’s 14th Amendment, cementing the law that allows anyone born on U.S. soil to be considered an American citizen.
The ruling immediately ignited a fresh wave of legislative pushback from Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance, who warned that the more than century-old practice of birthright citizenship is currently “hanging by a thread.”
The political fallout quickly spilled onto cable news later that evening. During an appearance on Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime, Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller indicated that the U.S. may need to implement unprecedented restrictions on temporary visas to close what conservatives view as a massive immigration loophole.
Host Jesse Watters opened the discussion by asking Miller if the government could completely seal the border, increase deportations, and crack down heavily on “birth tourism”—the practice of traveling to a country specifically to give birth so the child gains citizenship.
Miller responded by praising current border enforcement efforts but insisted that birthright citizenship creates an unsustainable incentive for foreign travelers.
“In most countries, normal countries, you can come as a tourist, as a visitor, as a temporary worker, etc.,” Miller said. “And the countries just making the decision to let you come here for a little bit and then go home. But if you have birthright citizenship, it means if a person comes here nine months pregnant to go look around at some things in a couple of weeks, that is the mother of a lifetime American citizen and a direct line into American cash and welfare for the rest of that child’s life. So you have to completely rethink.”
Watters pressed for specifics on how far those restrictions would go, asking directly, “Are we banning foreign pregnant women?”
Miller did not explicitly confirm an outright, blanket ban, but stated that the U.S. must heavily scrutinize temporary entries to prevent foreign nationals from taking advantage of birthright benefits.
“Well, what I’m saying, Jesse, is that you have to now think very carefully about who you let into your country, even on a temporary basis, because the possibility, as you said, for birth tourism, right?” Miller responded. “The idea that people come here just to have babies on American soil, and that baby gets to be a citizen for life.”
Miller further alleged that some foreign mothers utilize temporary visas to give birth in the U.S. before returning to their home countries, leaving the children with relatives while collecting government assistance.
“So you have mothers that come in fully pregnant, have a baby, go home. And again, that baby gets Medicaid and that baby gets welfare, and that baby gets cash assistance and can leave the baby with, you know, a cousin, a relative, whatever. And then to send welfare checks back home, you can support a whole family in the Third world,” Miller said.
According to Miller, the intersection of standard temporary travel programs and birthright citizenship creates a unique vulnerability that other developed nations do not face. He concluded the interview by signaling that major policy shifts regarding foreign visitors are actively being considered.
“So yes, you can’t have the kinds of immigration programs other countries have when you can just have a baby here and now that child is an American citizen,” Miller said. “So there’s a lot of things we’re going to have to take a hard look at, Jesse.”
READ: ‘It Is Communism’: J.D. Vance Claims Elite Professors Have Taken Over The Dem Party
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