What is birthright citizenship and how common is birth tourism in the US?
Trump's Latest Push to Reshape Birthright Citizenship and Curb Birth Tourism
Ninoda.com – President Donald Trump unveiled fresh executive directives designed to tackle what he calls birth tourism while narrowing birthright citizenship for specific populations. This move follows a setback earlier this year when the Supreme Court rejected his initial effort to modify the policy. Birthright citizenship grants nationality to individuals born within American borders, with limited exceptions, whereas birth tourism describes foreign nationals traveling to the United States primarily to deliver babies and secure citizenship for their offspring.
Two Executive Orders Target Different Issues
On Thursday, Trump signed two executive orders—presidential directives that take effect without needing congressional consent. The first directive broadens the categories of non-citizens whose offspring will not automatically receive birthright citizenship. Under this expansion, infants born in the United States to two non-citizen parents lose automatic eligibility if either parent belongs to a foreign terrorist organization, works for a foreign government, obtained citizenship through deception, or resides in American territories where federal law does not confer citizenship.
Several of these categories already existed in current regulations, but the addition of foreign terrorist group membership presents potential complications. Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, an associate policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, noted that determining membership status could prove challenging. She questioned whether the burden of proof rests with the government to demonstrate membership or with the individual to prove non-membership.
The second executive order aims to eliminate birth tourism by instructing the Departments of State and Homeland Security to strengthen regulations and increase enforcement efforts. While traveling to the United States specifically to give birth already violates federal law, the order claims that birth tourism operators employ misleading marketing tactics. According to the directive, these businesses "promise citizenship; access to public benefits; and short-term stays in specialised facilities, hotels, or rentals, but often fail to deliver on these promises."
Historical Foundation and Current Exceptions
The concept of birthright citizenship, legally termed "jus soli" or "right of the soil," originates from the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Originally crafted to provide citizenship to formerly enslaved individuals born in America following the Civil War, the amendment now covers nearly all people born on U.S. soil regardless of parental nationality. Minor exceptions remain for children of foreign diplomats, those born to enemy combatants during hostile occupation of American territory, and individuals born in unincorporated U.S. territories without federal statutes granting citizenship.
Residents of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands receive automatic citizenship upon birth. In contrast, those born in American Samoa hold "non-citizen national" status rather than full citizenship.
Numbers Behind Birth Tourism
Trump asserted on Thursday that "hundreds of thousands" of babies have resulted from birth tourism, though he offered no supporting evidence and did not specify whether this represents an annual or cumulative total. Official government statistics do not track women arriving on tourist visas specifically for childbirth, but CDC data reveals that approximately 9,500 infants were born to foreign mothers in the United States during 2024. This figure derives from births registered to mothers with foreign addresses. Compared to the 3.7 million total U.S. births that year, foreign-born babies constituted roughly 0.25 percent.
The Migration Policy Institute suggests these government numbers likely underestimate the true scope, as foreigners may use temporary U.S. addresses rather than permanent residences when registering births. Based on broader census analysis, the MPI estimates that 20,000 to 26,000 babies are born annually through birth tourism, representing between 0.5 and 0.7 percent of all yearly U.S. births.
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