No expectant moms at the border: Trump's birthright Plan B
After losing the birthright citizenship case at the Supreme Court, President Trump's aides and MAGA allies quickly pivoted to a new plan: blocking pregnant foreign women from entering the United States.Why it matters: The proposal would open a new immigration battle over pregnancy, travel and citizenship, shifting the conversation from challenging the rights of children born in the U.S. to restricting who can enter the country.State of play: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a Trump executive order that sought to deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. whose parents are not citizens was unconstitutional.Immediately after that decision, MAGA figures like Federalist founder Sean Davis suggested the U.S. bar pregnant foreign women from entering the country, an idea also floated by administration figures.Trump advisor Stephen Miller told Jesse Watters Tuesday after that court decision that America must "think very carefully about who you let into your country, even on a temporary basis," because children born to noncitizens can become U.S. citizens and access the social safety net."There's a lot of things we're gonna have to take a hard look at," he said.What they're saying: "President Trump remains totally committed to protecting the value of natural-born American citizenship which is why, following yesterday's ruling, he directed Congress to take immediate action to address this," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Axios in an emailed statement. "The Department of Justice will also prioritize investigations of birth tourism schemes. The Trump Administration has many tools to safeguard American citizenship." Zoom out: So-called birth tourism occurs when visitors come to America specifically to give birth to ensure their child receives U.S. citizenship.The Justice Department released a memo Tuesday that urged prosecutors to investigate the practice.Zoom in: "The criminal laws of the United States already prohibit conduct inherent to so many of these so-called 'birth tourism' schemes," Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald wrote in the memo posted to X. "For example, many such schemes start with a false visa application – with lies about the purpose or duration of one's travel to the United States."McDonald added that many of these cases could be prosecuted under visa fraud, but prosecutors should consider wire fraud, health care fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft charges.By the numbers: The government doesn't track the number of babies born to foreign visitors, but outside estimates put the figure between 20,000 to 26,000 cases per year.For context, 3.6 million babies were born in America in 2025, per the Centers for Disease Control, making birth tourism relatively rare.Worthy of your time: The push comes as the U.S. rallies around its World Cup team, which features several players who would not be eligible to represent America without birthright citizenship.That includes striker Folarin Balogun who scored half the team's goals in its opening game. Trump hasn't directly endorsed banning pregnant visitors, but his first administration actively targeted birthright tourism.He also appeared to reference birth tourism in a Truth Social post Tuesday that sarcastically congratulated Chinese President Xi Jinping after the Supreme Court decision."I would like to congratulate President Xi, and the Great Country of China, on their massive Birthright Citizenship WIN!"Go deeper: Scoop: Trump to target "birth tourism" in new immigration fightEditor's note: This story has been updated with comment from the White House.
