By Emmanuel Nduka
The United States has revoked more than 600 visas belonging to foreign nationals in the past month as the Donald Trump administration intensifies its crackdown on so-called “birth tourism”, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced.
Rubio said the visa cancellations followed a review by the Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force, a unit established by the State Department to investigate suspected abuse of the US visa system, disrupt birth tourism networks and prevent foreigners from exploiting American immigration laws.
“In just one month, the Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force has taken action to revoke more than 600 visas from foreign nationals across the globe and will continue to safeguard our nation from this abuse,” Rubio said in a post on X on Wednesday.
The latest action comes days after President Donald Trump issued an executive order on August 6 as part of his administration’s broader immigration enforcement drive.
“American citizenship is not for sale,” Rubio said.
He accused organised birth tourism networks of exploiting US immigration rules by helping foreign nationals obtain visas and travel to the country for the purpose of giving birth, with the resulting children potentially acquiring US citizenship.
“But elaborate birth tourism rings are profiting off the exploitation of America’s laws- coaching foreigners to defraud the US visa system, arranging travel and housing, and even forging documents, all to enable foreign nationals to obtain citizenship for their children,” he said.
Rubio said the State Department would deploy its available powers to target networks involved in the practice.
“The State Department will use all available tools to dismantle birth tourism networks and defend the integrity of US citizenship,” he said.
According to the State Department, the task force works by analysing and linking information held across the department and other federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security.
The department said the coordinated approach allows US authorities to investigate suspected birth tourism activities on a global scale, including examining the travel histories of individuals from different countries.
It said the objective was to identify and stop what it described as the exploitation and abuse of the US immigration system.
The State Department also noted that US visas may generally be revoked where authorities find indications that a visa holder could be ineligible to retain the document.
The department said the Secretary of State has broad discretionary powers to revoke visas and that the Trump administration intends to use those powers to protect Americans and uphold the integrity of the country’s immigration system.
The latest crackdown is expected to have implications for prospective travellers who may have previously viewed the United States as a destination for giving birth and securing citizenship for their children.
