Washington: The US on Wednesday said it has dismantled several overseas "birth tourism" networks and revoked visas of hundreds of foreign nationals who travelled to the country from Europe and Africa primarily to give birth and secure American citizenship for their children.
The action is part of the Trump administration's broader efforts to curb what it describes as abuse of the US immigration and citizenship system.
In a series of posts on X, the State Department said US embassies in Europe, West Africa and North Africa uncovered organised networks that helped foreign nationals obtain visitor visas for the purpose of giving birth in the United States.
"We shut it down, revoked their visas, and permanently banned several fraudsters from travelling to the United States ever again," it said.
According to the State Department, a US embassy in Europe identified more than 400 suspected birth tourism cases since 2024, tracing them to at least six companies that coached applicants on visa interviews, arranged housing in America and set up delivery plans.
Those networks were shut down, it said.
The department said US missions in West and North Africa uncovered and moved to dismantle similar networks in their respective regions.
In one West African country, officials uncovered a sophisticated network involving more than 100 foreign nationals using fraudulent documents and visa "fixers" to obtain visas and travel to the US to give birth to secure US citizenship for their children.
"We shut it down, revoked these foreign nationals' visas, and are coordinating with local authorities to systematically identify and cut off any similar operations," the department said.
In North Africa, a US embassy revoked over 100 visas for "birth tourist" parents who came to the United States primarily to give birth so their children could get US citizenship, it said.
Under President Donald Trump, the State Department is defending the integrity of US citizenship by ending illegal birth tourism schemes, it said.
"No foreigner is permitted to obtain a visitor visa for the primary purpose of acquiring US citizenship for a child by giving birth in the US," it said.
The department said consular officers, working with law enforcement and using data analytics, had identified several networks abusing the system and stopped them.
"A US visa is a privilege, not a right. The State Department is taking action around the world to stop this abuse, dismantle birth tourism networks, and hold accountable those who try to scam our system," it said.
The Trump administration has long maintained that the Constitution does not guarantee birthright citizenship for babies born on US soil.
On the first day of his second term in office, Trump signed an executive order barring citizenship for children born in the US if parents entered the country illegally or if the parents are living and working in the US legally with temporary visas.
The executive order never went into effect because every lower court judge to review it concluded, in the words of one, that the order was "blatantly unconstitutional". The matter reached the Supreme Court, which heard arguments from both sides in April, and a decision is expected soon.
