The Center for Immigration Studies has released a new report that tracks the number of children born to foreign nationals in the United States, as well as the extent of what could be called “birth tourism.” The numbers are worrisome.
Using federal statistics for the second half of 2016 and the first half of 2017, the latest reliable data available, CIS estimates that 39,000 babies were born to foreign students, guest workers, and others on long-term temporary visas. There were an additional 33,000 births to tourists. This is in addition to the estimated 300,000 children born in the U.S. each year to illegal immigrants.
Birth tourism is the name applied to the phenomenon in which foreign women come to the U.S. specifically to give birth so that their child can automatically become a U.S. citizen. These women arrive shortly before their due date, give birth, then return to their country of origin once the child’s citizenship paperwork and passports are processed.
In some cases, these women stay with relatives in the U.S., but there are also birth-tourism services that provide living quarters and assistance in processing paperwork and taking care of the newborns until their births are registered with the state. Having a place to live temporarily in the U.S. allows the mothers to provide a valid domestic address with which to receive the citizenship paperwork before returning to their home countries. ….