Trump’s administration has begun cracking down on so-called birth tourism in an attempt to stop pregnant women from coming into the country and giving birth just in order for their children to get American citizenship.
According to the newly-imposed regulations, foreign pregnant women who wish to enter the country will be denied tourist visas unless they can prove they have a sufficient amount of money to pay for the birth and a medical reason to give birth in the States.
While there’s nothing illegal about women wanting to give birth in the U.S. in order for their babies to get U.S. citizenship, the new rules aim to reduce the abuse of the 14th Amendment which states all babies born in America, except those of diplomats, automatically become U.S. citizens.
In a clarifying statement, Press Secretary for the White House, Stephanie Grisham, said:
“Closing this glaring immigration loophole will combat these endemic abuses and ultimately protect the United States from the national security risks created by this practice.
“It will also defend American taxpayers from having their hard-earned dollars siphoned away to finance the direct and downstream costs associated with birth tourism. The integrity of American citizenship must be protected.”
As it was explained, the new rules will only affect pregnant women deriving from countries of which citizens are obliged to secure proper visas to be allowed entry.
This means that the crackdown will not affect citizens of countries that are a part of the visa-waiver system including Australia, Japan, the UK, South Korea, and the majority of EU countries.
According to the State Department, they do “not believe that visiting the United States for the primary purpose of obtaining U.point 235 |
S.point 2 | citizenship for a child, by giving birth in the United States – an activity commonly referred to as ‘birth tourism’ – is a legitimate activity for pleasure or of a recreational nature.point 171 | ”point 174 | 1
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Replaced!