Now Reading: US revokes over 600 visas in birth tourism crackdown
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US revokes over 600 visas in birth tourism crackdown
The United States has revoked more than 600 visas from foreign nationals in the past month as part of a crackdown on birth tourism, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday.…
The Story in Brief
The United States has revoked more than 600 visas from foreign nationals in the past month as part of a crackdown on birth tourism, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday. The State Department formed a Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force to identify visa holders who travelled to the US to give birth and individuals facilitating such travel. ‘American citizenship is not for sale,’ Rubio said on X.
The crackdown follows an executive order by President Donald Trump on August 6. The task force is reviewing travel histories of visa holders worldwide, analysing data from the State Department and Homeland Security. The department cited cases where applicants allegedly concealed birth tourism plans, including using a conference as cover. Rubio warned that more actions would follow.
The Indian Opinion
The US framing of birth tourism as 'exploitation of citizenship laws' is one-sided. Many Indian families travel for better healthcare or to reunite with relatives, not just to game the system. While the US has a right to enforce visa rules, lumping all pregnant travellers as fraudsters is a lazy narrative. The real test will be whether the task force can distinguish genuine medical travel from abuse, and how many of the 600 revocations survive appeal. That number will tell us if this is precision or a bludgeon.
Sources (2): ndtv.com, livemint.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
