Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading a new effort by the Trump administration to shut down global “birth tourism” networks. The State Department recently revoked hundreds of visas, targeting groups that use fake documents to help pregnant travelers enter the United States so their children are automatically born as American citizens.
The sweeping crackdown was highlighted this past weekend during a Fox News broadcast hosted by Kayleigh McEnany. According to the report, the government is focusing on scam artists operating across multiple continents.
“The State Department [is] shutting down a sophisticated tourism network after the U.S. Embassy in West Africa revealed more than 100 foreign nationals were using fraudulent documents and visa fixers to illegally obtain American citizenship,” McEnany said during the broadcast.
She noted that the issue spans several regions. “It was a similar story in North Africa,” McEnany continued. “Over 100 Visas were just revoked as embassy there said expecting mothers were coming to America to give birth for the sole purpose of giving their child American citizenship. Meanwhile in Europe, we now know that there was over 400 suspected birth tourism cases since 2024.”
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott expanded on the agency’s actions during the segment, describing how these illegal operations function behind the scenes.
“These are networks that are essentially trying to sell citizenship to the United States as if it was a commodity,” Pigott said. “That includes coaching people on how to defraud U.S. Consular Officers to try to obtain a visa through fraud.”
Pigott also pointed out the financial impact on the country, noting that the medical costs often fall on the public.
“That also includes the logistics you laid out in the United States that leave the American taxpayer footing the bill — often time in these cases, birth tourists pay the absolute minimum when it comes to their medical expenses, and then U.S. taxpayers foot the bill,” he said. “That is outrageous, that is unacceptable, we are putting a stop to it.”
These visa revocations follow a recent State Department announcement stating the agency is “defending the integrity of U.S. citizenship by ending illegal birth tourism schemes.”
The crackdown arrives at a pivotal moment for the broader legal debate over the issue. President Donald Trump has heavily criticized the practice, referring to it as a “great scam” exploited by wealthy foreigners. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently reviewing the constitutionality of birthright citizenship, with a final ruling expected later this summer.
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