Sen. Blackburn targets birth tourism, 'buying American citizenship' in support of Trump's immigration agenda
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., introduced new legislation Tuesday aimed at dismantling the multimillion-dollar birth tourism industry that allows foreign nationals to use America's immigration system to secure automatic citizenship for their children.
The Ban Birth Tourism Act, introduced in the U.S. Senate, would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to declare inadmissible any foreign national seeking a tourist visa for the primary purpose of giving birth in the United States.
Those births automatically trigger U.S. citizenship for the child, a long-criticized loophole that opens the door to future family-sponsored migration.
Blackburn's bill, which was read twice and referred to committee, includes a provision to protect legitimate medical travelers. If the primary reason for entry is medical treatment rather than citizenship acquisition, those cases would not be blocked.
"For too long, foreign nationals have been exploiting our nation's immigration laws, taking advantage of the system to come to the United States solely to give birth and obtain citizenship for their children," Blackburn said in a press release. "The Ban Birth Tourism Act would prevent foreign nationals, including those from adversaries like Communist China and Russia, from buying American citizenship for their children. As President Trump works to end birthright citizenship, we need to get this bill to his desk."
The push comes as the Trump administration intensifies its focus on restoring immigration integrity in the president's second term. During his first term, President Trump repeatedly vowed to end automatic citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants and tourists.CALIFORNIA MAN SENTENCED FOR 'BIRTH TOURISM' SCHEME FOR AFFLUENT CHINESE WOMEN
In 2020, the State Department under his administration began denying visas to suspected birth tourists, a move hailed by immigration enforcement advocates.
Birth tourism is far from a fringe phenomenon. According to conservative immigration policy analysts, the industry accounts for at least 33,000 births annually to women on temporary visas. These children, upon turning 21, can legally sponsor their parents for green cards, offering a backdoor into the U.S. immigration system.
A 2015 report by the Center for Immigration Studies estimated the practice generates millions of dollars for companies that specialize in bringing pregnant foreigners, primarily from Russia and China, to the U.S. These firms often charge tens of thousands of dollars for packages that include visa coaching, hospital stays, and luxury accommodations.
In one of the largest federal crackdowns to date, the former Trump administration's Department of Justice in 2019 charged nearly 20 individuals in Southern California for operating extensive birth tourism networks targeting Chinese nationals.
Prosecutors accused the businesses of coaching clients to lie to immigration officials about the purpose of their travel, a tactic common among such operations.
Blackburn's bill would codify into law the inadmissibility of any traveler seeking to exploit this loophole, ensuring that birthright citizenship cannot be used as a ticket to game the system. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPThe Office of Senator Marsha Blackburn referred Fox News Digital to a Tuesday press release.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
Suspect planned to kill all in group he called 'Zionist,' but appeared to have second thoughts
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — A man in Boulder disguised as a gardener who wounded 12 people in an attack on a group holding their weekly demonstration for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza had planned to kill them all but appeared to have second thoughts, according to authorities. Mohamed Sabry Soliman had 18 Molotov cocktails but threw just two during Sunday's attack in which he yelled 'Free Palestine,' police said. He didn't carry out his full plan 'because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before,' police wrote in an affidavit. The two incendiary devices he did throw into the group of about 20 people were enough to wound more than half of them, and authorities said he expressed no regrets about the attack. The 45-year-old Soliman — whose first name also was spelled Mohammed in some court documents — planned the attack for more than a year and specifically targeted what he described as a 'Zionist group,' authorities said in court papers charging him with a federal hate crime. 'When he was interviewed about the attack, he said he wanted them all to die, he had no regrets and he would go back and do it again,' Acting U.S. Attorney J. Bishop Grewell for the District of Colorado said during a news conference Monday. Federal and state prosecutors filed separate criminal cases against Soliman, charging him with a hate crime and attempted murder, respectively. He faces additional state charges related to the incendiary devices, and more charges are possible in federal court, where the Justice Department will seek a grand jury indictment. Soliman is being held on a $10 million, cash-only bond, prosecutors said. His next court hearing is set for Thursday. An FBI affidavit says Soliman told the police he was driven by a desire 'to kill all Zionist people,' a reference to the movement to establish and protect a Jewish state in Israel. Soliman's attorney, public defender Kathryn Herold, declined to comment after the hearing. Soliman was living in the U.S. illegally after entering the country in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired in February 2023, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on the social platform X. The burst of violence at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall in downtown Boulder unfolded against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war , which continues to inflame global tensions and has contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States. The attack happened on the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot and barely a week after a man who also yelled 'Free Palestine' was charged with fatally shooting two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington. Six victims hospitalized The victims who were wounded range in age from 52 to 88, and the injuries spanned from serious to minor, officials said. Six of the injured were taken to hospitals, and four have since been released, said Miri Kornfeld, a Denver-based organizer connected to the group. She said the clothing of one of those who remains hospitalized caught on fire. Members of the volunteer group called Run For Their Lives were holding their weekly demonstration when the attack happened. Video from the scene captured by witness Alex Osante of San Diego shows people pouring water on a woman lying on the ground who Osante said had caught fire during the attack. Molotov cocktails found Osante said that after the suspect threw the two incendiary devices, apparently catching himself on fire as he threw the second, he took off his shirt and what appeared to be a bulletproof vest before police arrived. The man dropped to the ground and was arrested without any apparent resistance in the video Osante filmed. The Molotov cocktails were made up of glass wine carafe bottles or jars with clear liquid and red rags hanging out of the them, the FBI said. 'He stated that he had been planning the attack for a year and was waiting until after his daughter graduated to conduct the attack,' the affidavit says. He had gas in a backpack sprayer but told investigators he didn't spray it on anyone but himself 'because he had planned on dying.' Soliman also told investigators he took a concealed carry class and tried to buy a gun but was denied because he is not a legal U.S. citizen. Suspect hospitalized after attack Authorities said they believe Soliman acted alone. He was also injured and taken to a hospital. Authorities did not elaborate on the nature of his injuries, but a booking photo showed him with a large bandage over one ear. Soliman, who was born in Egypt, moved three years ago to Colorado Springs, where he lived with his wife and five kids, according to state court documents. He previously spent 17 years living in Kuwait. McLaughlin said Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022 and was granted a work authorization in March 2023 that had expired. DHS did not respond to requests for additional information. ___ Tucker reported from Washington.
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
They were marching for Israeli hostages. Then an antisemitic firebombing started
Race & ethnicity The Middle East Israel-Hamas warFacebookTweetLink Follow It started as a typical Sunday for Ed Victor. Every Sunday since September, he had stood in silent solidarity with members of the Jewish community in front of the Boulder County Historic Court House. The group had gathered to take part in 'Run for Their Lives' — a global event organized by members of the Jewish community to bring attention to the 58 hostages still in Gaza. Even when there had been hecklers, Victor and other members would focus on setting up their demonstration — signs reading 'Let them go now,' and posters bearing the faces of 58 hostages still being held in Gaza. Victor was talking to someone, looking west toward the mountains, he said, when he first felt the heat. 'Huge amount of flame,' Victor said. Then, he saw someone on fire. The quiet, peaceful march in Boulder, Colorado, quickly devolved into chaos after a man used a flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to set people at the plaza on fire in an antisemitic attack. Smoke rose as demonstrators and onlookers rushed to find anything that could hold water to pour onto the more than a half dozen people set ablaze. Clothing singed off bodies. Screams from burn victims and sirens from ambulances, police cars and firetrucks pierced the air. Victor used flags and banners meant to bring awareness to the hostages to smother flames that had consumed another marcher. At least 12 people were injured in the attack, District Attorney Michael Dougherty said Monday. Two are still hospitalized, officials said. 'I never ever, ever would've thought that this would've happen. I really can't and I'm so shocked that it did,' Victor said. Jewish leaders had been warning of the historic rise in antisemitic violence and threats since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. Nearly two years later, US-led attempts to broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas remain unsuccessful, fighting in Gaza continues and antisemitic threats in the US have boiled over into violence. Sunday's antisemitic attack took place just weeks after two Israeli Embassy staff members in Washington DC were killed by a pro-Palestinian attacker and an arsonist targeted Josh Shapiro's home during Passover because of the Pennsylvania governor's views on the war in the Gaza, heightening fear in the Jewish community. The FBI is investigating Sunday's firebombing as 'an act of terrorism.' The 'Run for Their Lives' event had been meeting regularly since mid-October 2023. The suspect, later identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, had been planning the attack for nearly as long, he told federal authorities. He targeted the group after researching them online, but waited nearly a year to attack them — until his daughter graduated high school, according to an affidavit filed Sunday. Soliman, who was born in Egypt but lived in Kuwait for 17 years, arrived in the United States in August 2022 as a non-immigrant visitor, according to multiple law enforcement officials. Soliman was seeking revenge after he determined the group didn't care about Palestinian hostages, per the affidavit. He told authorities he 'wanted to kill all Zionist people.' Witnesses said the suspect showed up to the plaza looking like a gardener, officials said. He wore a utility vest over his shirt, and carried a garden sprayer. Investigators believe he stopped at nearby gas stations to fill up bottles and the sprayer before the attack, arriving in the area around 1 p.m. He threw two Molotov cocktails, and the district attorney said police later found 16 more in the area. Brian Horwitz was at a nearby cafe having brunch with family when the attack began. The 37-year-old heard the screams and ran toward the suspect. ''F*** you Zionists. You're killing my people so I kill you,'' Horwitz said he heard the man say. The attacker then singled out people in the plaza saying ''you're a killer, you're a killer,'' Horwitz said. Horwitz said the man then locked eyes with him. 'That's when he looked at me and said you're a killer,' Horwitz recalled. He ran to an elderly victim who had burns on her feet and hands. The woman told him to worry about her friend instead, he said. Her friend had severe burns to her calf, the skin barely visible. 'She was cool, calm and collected - almost as if she had been there before,' Horwitz said. Three minutes after he called emergency services, police arrived and took the suspect into custody, Horwitz said. He noted the wait felt like an eternity. 'It was easily the most horrific thing I've ever seen in my life,' Horwitz said. 'There's someone who is outraged enough to go and attack these elderly people who are doing absolutely nothing to provoke it other than walk in silence and meet in a courtyard peacefully. It's unbelievable.' Soliman 'stated he would do it (conduct an attack) again,' according to the affidavit. He later told investigators he had planned on dying in the attack, according to a warrant for his arrest. Many of the injured were older adults. None of them have died, Boulder police said. Two were burned so badly, they had to be airlifted to nearby hospitals. In one video, a severely injured woman is seen lying on the ground as bystanders pour water on her. 'There were people on the ground and a bunch of others running over with buckets and bottles and whatever they could carry water in' the owner of Heady Bauer, a local clothing store, told CNN. 'Everyone was dumping water on the burned people, especially one woman on the ground who was totally torched from her hair to her legs.' Aaron Brooks said he saw 'smoke coming from a human being.' There was also singed grass and black marks around the site of the attack, he said. Horwitz said he saw pants completely burned and singed off, and 'it looked like their skin had just melted off their bodies.' Among those injured are a mother and daughter, said Elyana Funk, executive director of the University of Boulder Hillel. The mother 'is a Holocaust survivor in her 80's, who's been through certainly enough trauma.' Funk said she talked to some of the victims, who range in age from 52 to 88, including one woman who is 'healing from horrible burns.' The woman, Funk said, 'really felt like this happened not just to her, but to the whole community.' Soliman has been arrested and charged with a federal hate crime, and is facing a slew of state charges, including 16 counts of attempted first-degree murder. The weekly vigil in Boulder is now on hold, but Funk said the community will still find ways to come together. Victor says he'll be back next week again, just like he's been for nearly a year. 'This would not stop me,' he said. 'We'll see what other people decide they want to do, but I will be here.' CNN's John Miller, Sara Smart, Sarah Dewberry, Mark Morales, Martin Goillandeau, Amanda Jackson, Isaac Yee, Amanda Musa, Karina Tsui, Josh Campbell, Hanna Park, Matt Rehbein and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
They were marching for Israeli hostages. Then an antisemitic firebombing started
It started as a typical Sunday for Ed Victor. Every Sunday since September, he had stood in silent solidarity with members of the Jewish community in front of the Boulder County Historic Court House. The group had gathered to take part in 'Run for Their Lives' — a global event organized by members of the Jewish community to bring attention to the 58 hostages still in Gaza. Even when there had been hecklers, Victor and other members would focus on setting up their demonstration — signs reading 'Let them go now,' and posters bearing the faces of 58 hostages still being held in Gaza. Victor was talking to someone, looking west toward the mountains, he said, when he first felt the heat. 'Huge amount of flame,' Victor said. Then, he saw someone on fire. The quiet, peaceful march in Boulder, Colorado, quickly devolved into chaos after a man used a flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to set people at the plaza on fire in an antisemitic attack. Smoke rose as demonstrators and onlookers rushed to find anything that could hold water to pour onto the more than a half dozen people set ablaze. Clothing singed off bodies. Screams from burn victims and sirens from ambulances, police cars and firetrucks pierced the air. Victor used flags and banners meant to bring awareness to the hostages to smother flames that had consumed another marcher. At least 12 people were injured in the attack, District Attorney Michael Dougherty said Monday. Two are still hospitalized, officials said. 'I never ever, ever would've thought that this would've happen. I really can't and I'm so shocked that it did,' Victor said. Jewish leaders had been warning of the historic rise in antisemitic violence and threats since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. Nearly two years later, US-led attempts to broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas remain unsuccessful, fighting in Gaza continues and antisemitic threats in the US have boiled over into violence. Sunday's antisemitic attack took place just weeks after two Israeli Embassy staff members in Washington DC were killed by a pro-Palestinian attacker and an arsonist targeted Josh Shapiro's home during Passover because of the Pennsylvania governor's views on the war in the Gaza, heightening fear in the Jewish community. The FBI is investigating Sunday's firebombing as 'an act of terrorism.' The 'Run for Their Lives' event had been meeting regularly since mid-October 2023. The suspect, later identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, had been planning the attack for nearly as long, he told federal authorities. He targeted the group after researching them online, but waited nearly a year to attack them — until his daughter graduated high school, according to an affidavit filed Sunday. Soliman, who was born in Egypt but lived in Kuwait for 17 years, arrived in the United States in August 2022 as a non-immigrant visitor, according to multiple law enforcement officials. Soliman was seeking revenge after he determined the group didn't care about Palestinian hostages, per the affidavit. He told authorities he 'wanted to kill all Zionist people.' Witnesses said the suspect showed up to the plaza looking like a gardener, officials said. He wore a utility vest over his shirt, and carried a garden sprayer. Investigators believe he stopped at nearby gas stations to fill up bottles and the sprayer before the attack, arriving in the area around 1 p.m. He threw two Molotov cocktails, and the district attorney said police later found 16 more in the area. Brian Horwitz was at a nearby cafe having brunch with family when the attack began. The 37-year-old heard the screams and ran toward the suspect. ''F*** you Zionists. You're killing my people so I kill you,'' Horwitz said he heard the man say. The attacker then singled out people in the plaza saying ''you're a killer, you're a killer,'' Horwitz said. Horwitz said the man then locked eyes with him. 'That's when he looked at me and said you're a killer,' Horwitz recalled. He ran to an elderly victim who had burns on her feet and hands. The woman told him to worry about her friend instead, he said. Her friend had severe burns to her calf, the skin barely visible. 'She was cool, calm and collected - almost as if she had been there before,' Horwitz said. Three minutes after he called emergency services, police arrived and took the suspect into custody, Horwitz said. He noted the wait felt like an eternity. 'It was easily the most horrific thing I've ever seen in my life,' Horwitz said. 'There's someone who is outraged enough to go and attack these elderly people who are doing absolutely nothing to provoke it other than walk in silence and meet in a courtyard peacefully. It's unbelievable.' Soliman 'stated he would do it (conduct an attack) again,' according to the affidavit. He later told investigators he had planned on dying in the attack, according to a warrant for his arrest. Many of the injured were older adults. None of them have died, Boulder police said. Two were burned so badly, they had to be airlifted to nearby hospitals. In one video, a severely injured woman is seen lying on the ground as bystanders pour water on her. 'There were people on the ground and a bunch of others running over with buckets and bottles and whatever they could carry water in' the owner of Heady Bauer, a local clothing store, told CNN. 'Everyone was dumping water on the burned people, especially one woman on the ground who was totally torched from her hair to her legs.' Aaron Brooks said he saw 'smoke coming from a human being.' There was also singed grass and black marks around the site of the attack, he said. Horwitz said he saw pants completely burned and singed off, and 'it looked like their skin had just melted off their bodies.' Among those injured are a mother and daughter, said Elyana Funk, executive director of the University of Boulder Hillel. The mother 'is a Holocaust survivor in her 80's, who's been through certainly enough trauma.' Funk said she talked to some of the victims, who range in age from 52 to 88, including one woman who is 'healing from horrible burns.' The woman, Funk said, 'really felt like this happened not just to her, but to the whole community.' Soliman has been arrested and charged with a federal hate crime, and is facing a slew of state charges, including 16 counts of attempted first-degree murder. The weekly vigil in Boulder is now on hold, but Funk said the community will still find ways to come together. Victor says he'll be back next week again, just like he's been for nearly a year. 'This would not stop me,' he said. 'We'll see what other people decide they want to do, but I will be here.' CNN's John Miller, Sara Smart, Sarah Dewberry, Mark Morales, Martin Goillandeau, Amanda Jackson, Isaac Yee, Amanda Musa, Karina Tsui, Josh Campbell, Hanna Park, Matt Rehbein and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.
