By Breitbart News Network | Created at 2026-09-18 01:27:08 | Updated at 2026-09-18 15:36:26
23 hours ago
A bill that would crack down on birth tourism by making new criminal penalties for those who facilitate it has been introduced by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who told Breitbart News that her legislation “shuts the door on this scam once and for all.”
Mace unveiled the “American Citizenship Integrity Act” on Thursday, which would treat the actions of those who recruit, transport, or harbor a noncitizen alien for the purpose of having their child be born with U.S. citizenship as “trafficking.”
If passed, the new law would make such an offense come with penalties of up to 15 years in prison per offense, and up to 30 years for criminal organizations.
WATCH — Chinese Subversion! Peter Schweizer Details CCP’s Birthright Citizenship Scam:
Up to 300,000 children were born in the U.S. to “birth tourists” over the last decade, Center for Immigration Studies Director of Research Steven Camarota revealed in a House Oversight Committee task force hearing earlier this month.
“The best estimate we have made at the Center for Immigration Studies of the possible number of births to tourists is 20,000 to 26,000 a year, though that estimate is based on data from 2016 and 2017,” Camarota told the committee. “Some might think the number is small relative to the overall number of births in the U.S. annually; however, the effect is cumulative. Assuming the numbers we estimated in the past continued, some 200,000 to 300,000 children were born to birth tourists over the last decade — hardly a trivial number.”
Despite the Trump administration’s efforts to end birthright citizenship, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to reject the president’s reform on the nation’s policy in June.
“I would like to congratulate President Xi, and the Great Country of China, on their massive Birthright Citizenship WIN!” President Donald Trump wrote in a sarcastic post on Truth Social after the ruling.
He also called on Congress to go around the Supreme Court’s decision, saying they “will have my complete and total support!”
WATCH — Kansas AG Kris Kobach Testifies on Birthright Citizenship:
The same day the ruling was made, Trump’s Department of Justice directed federal prosecutors across the country to step up investigations and prosecutions of birth tourism schemes, arguing that the practice exploits the U.S. immigration system and often involves visa fraud and other crimes.
Later in August, Trump’s State Department announced it had created a task force aimed at ending birth tourism, stating that it is revoking visas of “those who engage in or facilitate it.”
In addition to creating a new criminal penalty for facilitators of birth tourism, Mace’s bill would also threaten the citizenship of those who are convicted of fraud related to birth tourism by enabling denaturalization proceedings.
The act would also establish the American Citizenship Integrity Interagency Task Force, to be co-chaired by the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security, to investigate, prosecute, and dismantle birth tourism operations along with international law-enforcement partners.
A dedicated federal prosecutor in every judicial district would also be designated to coordinate and supervise cases related to birth tourism and citizenship fraud.
“American citizenship isn’t a travel souvenir or a commodity for sale. It’s one of the greatest privileges on Earth,” Mace told Breitbart News in an exclusive statement Thursday. “Birth tourism is an abuse of our immigration system. It rewards people for exploiting our laws while millions of Americans are left paying the price. Our bill shuts the door on this scam once and for all.”
The congresswoman added, “America is not the world’s maternity ward. If you’re exploiting our laws to manufacture U.S. citizenship, the free ride is over. This legislation puts criminal birth tourism networks on notice and gives law enforcement the tools to shut them down.”
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
