The Supreme Court is expected to rule Tuesday in Trump v. Barbara, a high-stakes challenge to President Donald Trump's 2025 executive order that seeks to restrict automatic birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment for children of illegal immigrants and temporary visa holders. In the event the court rules against Trump, a number of Congressional Republicans have legislation pending that could practically accomplish what a different ruling would have done.

"American citizenship is a priceless privilege that must be protected, not exploited. We must restore integrity to our immigration system, uphold the rule of law, and protect the value of American citizenship for generations to come," Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, told Just The News. 

Several bills, most notably the Birthright Citizenship Act introduced by Babin and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., one day after Trump's inauguration in 2025 (and similar versions in recent Congresses), seek to end or sharply restrict automatic birthright citizenship by amending the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). 

These measures would reinterpret the 14th Amendment’s “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” clause to grant citizenship at birth only to children with at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen, national, lawful permanent resident (LPR) residing in the U.S., or an LPR serving in the military. 

CIS: 225,000 to 250,000 births to illegal immigrants occurred in 2023

The exploitation of U.S. birthright citizenship through “anchor babies” involves pregnant illegal immigrants, predominantly from Latin America, giving birth to children in U.S. territory, and thus, automatically becoming citizens, which may later serve as a basis for family sponsorship or complicate deportation proceedings. 

The Center for Immigration Studies estimates 225,000 to 250,000 births to illegal immigrants occurred in 2023—nearly 7 percent of total U.S. births — with the large majority involving parents from Mexico and Central America who, in the aggregate, account for roughly 68 percent of the unauthorized population.   

While minor U.S.-citizen children cannot sponsor parents until age 21 (per 1976 amendments to immigration law), critics have argued that these births create long-term “anchors” for chain migration and mixed-status households, generating substantial taxpayer costs for education, healthcare and welfare while raising questions about enforcement priorities in families with citizen children. 

Estimates suggest millions of U.S.-born children of unauthorized Latin American immigrants now reside in the country.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The birthright citizenship bonanza

Birthright citizenship abuse via birth tourism, when foreign nationals travel to the United States on temporary visas specifically to give birth, is an issue that Trump addressed early in his second term.

Investigative journalist Peter Schweizer detailed this practice extensively in his 2026 book, "The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon," in which he described how China has industrialized the practice on a large scale through an organized industry. 

Chinese officials have estimated around 50,000 Chinese nationals per year give birth in the U.S. or territories like Saipan, while some scholars place the figure closer to 100,000 annually, according to Marketplace’s China.

Schweizer reports more than 1,000 birth tourism companies operate in China focused on the U.S., offering concierge packages costing up to $100,000 that include visa guidance, medical arrangements, and sometimes instructions on concealing pregnancies or claiming indigent to reduce hospital bills. 

China leads this activity by a wide margin, but Russia has also participated notably, with dedicated firms in South Florida like Miami Mama. South Florida NBC affiliate NBC6 reported that Miami Mama LLC was raided by the FBI in 2017 and has been operating in Miami since 2009. The company offers packages ranging from just under $20,000 to over $53,000 that include all the medicines and procedures that come along with childbirth. NBC also noted that the owner was never convicted of the business's operations.

Independent estimates from the Center for Immigration Studies suggest total U.S. birth tourism births range from about 20,000–36,000 annually in recent years (a small fraction of overall U.S. births), though precise official figures are unavailable because the U.S. does not systematically track parents’ nationalities or travel intent on birth certificates  

The CDC has reported roughly 9,600 births to foreign mothers listing addresses outside the U.S. and territories in 2024 as one limited proxy.

Aside from legislation to end birthright citizenship, there are other bills proposed to end the birth tourism industry. These bills would disrupt profit-driven networks arranging travel, housing, medical care and visas for pregnant foreigners seeking U.S. citizenship for their children. 

Key bills include Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s Ban Birth Tourism Act (S. 1812, 2025), which amends the INA to deem such visitors inadmissible on B visas, and Sen. John Cornyn’s BACK OFF Act (2026), which imposes criminal penalties on facilitators for fraud and organized schemes while creating a dedicated enforcement task force.