Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force on the job

The U.S. Department of State on Aug. 20 said that nearly 900 visas have been revoked

this has happened since a birth tourism task force was created in early August

Birth tourism refers to a foreign national traveling to another country to give birth there in a bid to allow the child to gain citizenship of that country. The Trump administration attempted to end birthright citizenship through an executive order last year, which was challenged in court and later blocked by multiple judges.

Describing birth tourism as “an insidious practice,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told Newsmax’s National Report that officials are “seeing this be a global phenomenon, and we’re seeing these networks that are profiting, trying to essentially sell U.S. citizenship.”

He said this includes “by advertising a world they say is without borders or automatic citizenship, disguising themselves as healthcare services when in reality it is the insidious practice with birth tourism, and then on top of defrauding consular offices to get that visa, they then coach these people to defraud the American people when they’re here, and leave taxpayers footing the bill for their medical expenses.”

Announcing the Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force earlier in August, the Department of State said that it would use all its resources to “defend the integrity of U.S. citizenship, ensure nonimmigrant visas are used only for their lawful and intended purposes, and prevent their exploitation through birth tourism.”

“When that task force was announced, the secretary (Marco Rubio) noted that we had revoked over 600 visas,” Pigott added during Thursday’s interview. “I can now say that we are at nearly 900 visas revoked since this task force was launched.”

Read more at the Epoch Times