Representative Rich McCormick (GA-07) is introducing the House companion to Senator Marsha Blackburn's (R-TN) Ban Birth Tourism Act of 2026.
This legislation will close a loophole in U.S. immigration law by preventing foreign nationals from traveling to the United States primarily to give birth and have their child automatically acquire American citizenship.
What is the context of this legislation? The legislation follows the Supreme Court's recent decision in Trump v. Barbara, which ruled that the President could not overturn birthright citizenship by executive order and that the issue would remain a constitutional matter.
The bill is a response to this ruling. It amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make birth tourism grounds for inadmissibility and deportation, while granting immigration officials the authority to stop the practice before it occurs.
What lawmakers are saying:
- Rep. Rich McCormick: "American citizenship is one of the greatest privileges in the world. It should not be bought as a product, exploited through a loophole, or handed out to foreign nationals who fly here solely to give birth and return home. Every year, roughly 33,000 children are born in the United States to birth tourists, many of whom are coached by businesses on how to deceive immigration officials. That is not a legal gray area; it is fraud, and it has gone on long enough."
- Sen. Marsha Blackburn: “Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Barbara, Congress must step up to the plate to protect the integrity of American citizenship. I’m grateful to my Republican colleagues for joining me in reintroducing the Ban Birth Tourism Act to make it crystal clear that any alien seeking to come to our country to engage in birth tourism is both inadmissible and deportable under the Immigration & Nationality Act.”
Further Context: Current estimates indicate that approximately 33,000 children are born in the United States each year to birth tourists, with some foreign nationals paying thousands of dollars to companies that provide coaching on how to evade immigration scrutiny.
The Ban Birth Tourism Act of 2026 would confront this issue by making it grounds for deportation and delegitimizing the act entirely.
