July 16, 2026 | Issue 35

Are There Other Ways to Curb Birthright Citizenship?

Following the recent Supreme Court ruling on birthright citizenship – which took a very broad approach to the 14th Amendment and allows for nearly all children born on U.S. soil to become American citizens at birth – a handful of Republican Congressmen are seeking to establish stricter rules on birth tourism.

Birth tourism is broadly defined as the practice of pregnant foreign women arriving in the U.S. just days or weeks before delivering their baby. The baby, born in the United States, now becomes a U.S. citizen in most cases. Hotels exist, primarily on the West Coast, specifically for this reason.

While the number of babies born under these circumstances is relatively small compared to the number born to parents who are living and working in the U.S. illegally, they still represent a fair share of the total. More importantly, this practice exposes a loophole within our nation’s immigration laws – one that can and should be stopped at once.

From NPG’s perspective, this should be very simple to resolve. Common sense would dictate that women would not want to fly late in their pregnancy, particularly internationally, unless they have ulterior motives.

Can Congress and the State Department restrict foreign women from entering the U.S. late in their pregnancy? Time – and likely the courts – will tell.

For more on this important topic, please review After Supreme Court birthright citizenship ruling, Republicans propose banning pregnant foreigners from U.S. from Spectrum News as well as NPG’s Commentary titled Protecting the Integrity of U.S. Citizenship.