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The Department of Justice (DOJ) is focusing more effort on prosecuting birth tourism schemes after the Supreme Court ruled against President Trump’s Executive Order banning birthright citizenship for the children of non-citizens who are born on U.S. soil.
Shortly after the ruling, the DOJ decried birth tourism immigration plots on X. It stated, “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.”
Birth Tourism has been a continued issue in the United States. During the first Trump administration, the Department of State cracked down on birth tourism by tightening visa practices.
In 2020, the Center for Immigration Studies reported that an estimated 33,000 births occur annually in the U.S. to noncitizens traveling on visas. “We estimate that hundreds of thousands more are born to mothers who are illegal aliens or present on temporary visas,” it added.
After Tuesday’s ruling, Deputy Attorney General Colin M. McDonald sent a memorandum to DOJ employees, directing them to increase efforts to prosecute birth tourism schemes. “The criminal laws of the United States already prohibit conduct inherent to many of these so-called ‘birth tourism schemes,” he stated.
Memorandum for DOJ Employees on Prosecution of Fraudulent Birth Tourism Schemes from Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/hoilA5o2TE
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) June 30, 2026
McDonald referenced three birth tourism operations that were shut down and led to jail time for the orchestrators who sought to sell U.S. citizenship to foreign couples through birthing a child on American soil. He also noted that while most cases are prosecuted under visa fraud, DOJ employees also need to investigate birth tourism-related money laundering, wire fraud, unlawful use of identification, identity theft, and conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud.
“The Department of Justice will zealously protect the sanctity of United States citizenship by investigating and prosecuting those who fraudulently exploit our immigration system. Together, we will bring illegal birthright tourism to an end and those responsible to justice.