Axios: Trump to roll out new rule cracking down on "birth tourism"

PanARMENIAN.Net - The administration of the U.S. President Donald Trump has a new target on the immigration front — pregnant women visiting from other countries — with plans to roll out a new rule cracking down on "birth tourism," Axios cited three administration officials as saying.

Trump has threatened to end birthright citizenship and railed against immigrant "anchor babies". The new rule would be one of the first tangible steps to test how much legal authority the administration has to prevent foreigners from taking advantage of the 14th Amendment's protection of citizenship for anyone born in the U.S.

"This change is intended to address the national security and law enforcement risks associated with birth tourism, including criminal activity associated with the birth tourism industry," a State Department official said.

The regulation is also part of the administration's broader efforts to intensify the vetting process for visas, according to another senior administration official.

"Birth tourists" often come to the U.S. from China, Russia and Nigeria, according to the AP.

There's no official count of babies born to foreign visitors in the U.S., while the immigration restrictionist group Center for Immigration Studies — which has close ties to Trump administration immigration officials — puts estimates at around 33,000 every year.