Trump allies blame birthright citizenship for ‘birth tourism.’ How often does it happen?
PolitiFact – Rulings and Stories — 2026-07-01 16:10:00 — www.politifact.com
Trump Attacks Supreme Court Birthright Citizenship Ruling With Misleading Claims About “Birth Tourism”
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold birthright citizenship, Donald Trump criticized the ruling and appeared to link it to so-called “birth tourism.” In a post, Trump stated he wanted to “congratulate President Xi, and the Great Country of China, on their massive Birthright Citizenship WIN!”—a comment seemingly aimed at the notion that foreign nationals, particularly from China, travel to the U.S. to give birth and secure citizenship for their children.
Fact-Checking the Birth Tourism Narrative
Despite Trump’s suggestion that the Supreme Court’s ruling is a major victory for foreign birth tourism, available data and research show that the phenomenon is a very small fraction of total U.S. births. Estimates from researchers and policy institutes place the number of babies born annually to so-called “birth tourists” between 5,000 and 26,000—a tiny slice of the 3.6 million births expected in the U.S. in 2025. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated about 9,500 births in 2024 to parents with a non-U.S. address, but this figure includes women who may not have intended to give birth in the U.S. for citizenship purposes.
Further, demographic evidence contradicts the narrative that birth tourism is dominated by wealthy Asian families. The majority of such births are to Hispanic mothers, particularly from Mexico, and these mothers tend to have above-average education levels, challenging the claim that they are seeking public benefits.
Trump Administration Actions and Legal Context
While giving birth in the U.S. as a foreigner is not a crime, it becomes illegal if it involves visa fraud or other violations. The Trump administration did take steps to prevent birth tourism, including a 2020 State Department regulation allowing consular officers to deny visas for suspected birth tourism applicants. However, the law already prohibited granting tourist visas for the primary purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship for a child.
Conclusion
Trump’s response to the Supreme Court’s birthright citizenship ruling exaggerates the scale and impact of birth tourism in the United States. Fact-checks and federal data show that birth tourism accounts for a minuscule proportion of U.S. births, and the demographic reality does not match the rhetoric. The Supreme Court itself largely ignored the issue in its ruling, and experts emphasize that citizenship policy should not be based on this small, misunderstood group.
Source: https://www.politifact.com/article/2026/jul/01/birth-tourism-birthright-citizenship-Supreme-Court/