Trump Tries Different Approach to Crack Down on Citizenship Exploitation

President Trump signed two executive orders Thursday that take direct aim at what’s become an embarrassing loophole in American immigration policy. This comes after the Supreme Court struck down his first attempt to tackle birthright citizenship back in June, a ruling Trump called “very unfair” during the Oval Office signing event.

Here’s the thing about birthright citizenship. The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees it, sure, but that doesn’t mean we should sit back and watch foreign nationals turn it into a business opportunity. And that’s exactly what’s been happening across the country for years now. Hundreds of thousands of people, according to Trump’s estimate, have gamed the system.

The first executive order tells federal agencies to crack down on birth tourism and certain surrogacy schemes. It also carves out exceptions for children born to foreign government agents and what the administration calls “alien enemies,” particularly in U.S. territories. The second order goes after the supply side of this problem by directing the State Department to deny tourist visas to pregnant foreigners who plan to give birth here just to snag American citizenship for their kids.

Now, you might be thinking this sounds like immigration officers already have these tools. You’d be right. It’s already illegal to commit visa fraud, and border officials can turn away pregnant women they suspect of birth tourism. But enforcement has been spotty at best, and these orders aim to tighten the screws.

The evidence of abuse isn’t hard to find. Take the De’Ai Postpartum Care Center in Houston, which Texas is suing for allegedly helping Chinese nationals exploit birthright citizenship. The clinic admits it’s facilitated 1,000 births. Think about that number for a second. One thousand American citizens created not through the natural course of immigration or family building, but through a calculated scheme.

The Daily Wire actually visited some of the quiet Houston neighborhoods where this center allegedly housed pregnant Chinese women. These weren’t hospitals or legitimate medical facilities. They were regular homes converted into birthing operations, hidden in plain sight among American families just trying to live their lives.

Texas has also opened an investigation into a South Texas hospital that put up billboards in Mexico advertising “birth packages” for up to $5,525. They even had a website called havemybabyinTEXAS.com, which conveniently went dark once people started asking questions. The audacity is almost impressive if it weren’t so insulting to everyone who’s followed the rules and waited their turn.

This isn’t about being anti-immigrant. It’s about preserving the integrity of citizenship itself. When you can buy American citizenship for your child through a package deal advertised on a billboard, something has gone terribly wrong. Citizenship should mean something. It should represent a genuine connection to this country, not just a transaction completed during a brief tourist visit.

Trump’s frustration with the Supreme Court decision is understandable. “They’ve taken birthright citizenship and they’ve made a joke out of it,” he said Thursday. Whether you agree with his approach or not, he’s identified a real problem that previous administrations largely ignored.

The question now is whether these new orders can survive legal scrutiny. Administration officials insist they’ve crafted these restrictions to comply with the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling. That remains to be seen, but at least someone’s trying to address an issue that’s been festering for decades.

Foreign nationals accessing American benefits through birth tourism isn’t a victimless crime. Every fraudulent citizenship claim dilutes the value of genuine citizenship and strains resources meant for Americans and legal immigrants who’ve earned their place here. The free market works best when everyone plays by the same rules, and right now, birth tourists are playing an entirely different game.

Related: JD Vance’s Fraud Task Force Has Already Stopped 56 Billion Dollars From Walking Out the Door