Republican Georgia Rep. Rich McCormick introduced a bill Thursday that seeks to ban birth tourism in the U.S., the Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.
The bill is a companion to Republican Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s Ban Birth Tourism Act of 2026 which together seek to end the practice of foreign nationals traveling to and giving birth in the U.S. so their children can obtain birthright citizenship. The legislation follows the Supreme Court’s recent decision to block President Donald Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship which effectively sought to ban birth tourism.
The legislation intends to “close a loophole in U.S. immigration law by preventing foreign nationals from traveling to the United States for the primary purpose of giving birth,” according to a press release from McCormick’s office obtained by the DCNF. The children of these foreign nationals automatically become U.S. citizens under current law.
“I am proud to join Senator Blackburn in introducing the House companion to the Ban Birth Tourism Act of 2026,” McCormick said, according to the press release. “I urge my colleagues to stand with us in protecting the integrity of American citizenship and restoring confidence in our immigration system.”
McCormick’s and Blackburn’s bills intend to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act “to make clear that any alien seeking admission to the United States for the primary purpose of obtaining American citizenship for a child by giving birth in the United States is inadmissible.” The bills also would make birth tourism a conduct “that constitutes a deportable offense.”
“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,” McCormick said in the press release. “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.”
The Supreme Court ruled that the 14th Amendment gives citizenship to anyone “born … in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” according to SCOTUS Blog.
However, people have exploited birthright citizenship for years, according to the release from McCormick’s office.
(DCNF)