President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order on Thursday aiming to crack down on foreign nationals traveling to the United States on temporary visas to give birth on American soil.

Details of the Order

The directive delegates authority to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to update policies, revoke travel authorizations, and deny entry to individuals attempting to engage in what the administration defines as “birth tourism.” Under the order, penalties may also include permanent entry bans and enforcement actions against third-party operators who facilitate these trips.

According to the text of the order, citizenship “is not a commodity to be acquired through calculated exploitation and evasion of the immigration laws.” The document states that commercial operators frequently coach foreign clients to misrepresent their travel plans to border officials, diverting limited enforcement resources and abusing temporary visa categories like tourist or student visas to secure permanent status for children.

The order officially defines birth tourism as the entry of any foreign national via a nonimmigrant visa to give birth in the U.S., as well as any efforts by individuals or entities to facilitate such travel. Agencies are authorized under the measure to target network operators both inside and outside the country.

Exemptions to the policy may be granted on humanitarian grounds or if an individual’s entry is determined to be in the national interest by the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.