Trump administration ramps up crackdown on parents seeking citizenship for children

The State Department under the Trump presidency has ramped up efforts to crack down on what the current U.S. administration described as so-called birth tourism networks that are potentially upending the American immigration system.

According to the agency, any foreign national entering the United States with the purpose of giving birth as a way of securing citizenship for their children — by obtaining a visitor visa — will not be permitted.

In a statement, the department said a scandal had been uncovered at the U.S. embassy in West Africa.

Over 100 foreign nationals were involved in the operation, where allegedly fraudulent documents and visas had been issued to get travel authorization for what the agency described as 'birth tourism.'

In a prompt, the officials revoked the visas, and alongside the local authorities, the department is working to spot and end similar operations.

But West Africa is not alone in this so-called birth tourism operation, according to the State Department.

Since 2024, over 400 cases suspected of birth tourism have been identified in Europe.

The agency said the visas of suspects involved in the operation had been revoked and a permanent travel ban imposed on them.

"A U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right," the State Department post concluded.