Birth Tourism in the US Could Be on Borrowed Time

Source: Newsweek

Published May 08, 2026 at 05:00 AM EDT updated May 08, 2026 at 05:16 AM EDT


Authorities in the United States are taking new steps to address birth tourism, with state legal action and a federal enforcement initiative targeting alleged facilitation networks. Birth tourism is generally defined as travel to another country for the purpose of giving birth so that the child obtains citizenship by place of birth. The Migration Policy Institute said that up to 26,000 births in the United States each year could be linked to the practice, a small share of the estimated 3.5 million births annually.

Reuters reported last month that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had directed investigators to focus on a new “Birth Tourism Initiative” led by its Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division, targeting networks suspected of helping pregnant foreign nationals misrepresent the purpose of travel on visa applications in order to give birth in the U.S.

“HSI is advancing efforts to protect the integrity of US immigration and identification systems, specifically targeting fraudulent activities associated with birth tourism schemes,” the internal agency email reviewed by Reuters said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Newsweek the agency "is aware of service-based operations, sometimes described as “concierge” models, that facilitate travel, housing, and logistics for foreign nationals seeking to give birth in the United States.". "While the act of giving birth in the United States is not unlawful, DHS remains focused on identifying and addressing potential violations of federal law associated with these activities.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/birth-tourism-us-could-be-on-borrowed-time-11924480