DHS Cracks Down on ‘Birth Tourism’ With China Visa-Free Travel Ban
Summary
The Department of Homeland Security will suspend a visa-free travel program for some Chinese nationals visiting the Northern Mariana Islands on October 30 while it reviews the program. The move follows Republican calls to end the program over concerns about birth tourism, in which visitors travel to give birth so their children can obtain U.S. citizenship.Key Facts
- The EVS-TAP program lets prescreened Chinese nationals visit the Northern Mariana Islands without a visa for up to 14 days.
- Program participants cannot travel to Guam, the U.S. mainland, or other parts of the United States.
- DHS said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin found good cause to suspend the program and that the review will involve the State and Interior departments.
- Vicky Benavente of the Marianas Visitors Authority said Chinese visitors made up more than 20 percent of arrivals in fiscal year 2026 and warned the suspension could harm tourism.
- In April, Republican senators Mike Lee, Rick Scott, John Cornyn, and Bill Cassidy urged the administration to scrap the program.
- On August 6, President Donald Trump signed an order directing federal departments to prevent foreign nationals from using nonimmigrant visas for birth tourism.
- On September 23, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced visa restrictions for people who engage in or facilitate birth tourism.
- The article reports that the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s executive order seeking to deny birthright citizenship to children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily in the country.
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