Gov. Greg Abbott has issued an executive order to crack down on the practice of "birth tourism."
The move appears to be a response to the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding birthright citizenship, despite efforts by President Donald Trump to restrict it.
Abbott's order directs six health-focused state agencies to investigate schemes aimed at helping non-citizens travel to the United States illegally for the alleged purposes of giving birth and securing U.S. citizenship for their children.
"Texas will not tolerate the exploitation of our immigration laws by individuals traveling to the United States illegally or under false pretenses to give birth and secure citizenship for their child," Abbott said. "This executive order directs state agencies to investigate birth tourism schemes and hold accountable any provider that facilitates this fraud. U.S. citizenship is not for sale, and Texas will put a stop to individuals seeking to profit from birth tourism."
The nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute estimates that, at most, the number of babies born to tourists visiting the U.S. is less than 30,000 out of more than 3.5 million births per year.
"There’s nothing in the law that says that somebody can’t come to the United States as a tourist when they’re pregnant," said Julia Gelatt, associate director of the U.S. program at the Migration Policy Institute. "We had a member of our World Cup team who was born in the United States just by accident because the airline decided that this soccer player’s mom was too pregnant to get on a plane to go back home, even though that was her intention to go back home and give birth."
The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution automatically conveys U.S. citizenship on anyone born in the United States, regardless of the legal status of their parents. The U.S. Supreme Court, in its final decision of the 2025-2026 term, ruled that President Trump could not limit the practice of birthright citizenship.
"I think ultimately this is the behavior of a sore loser, someone like Greg Abbott who’s unhappy with the ruling of the Supreme Court," said Austin-based immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, "and now the state is looking for other ways to enforce something that is entirely legal."
Lincoln-Goldfinch worries the order could make hospitals wary of treating pregnant immigrants, endangering the lives of mothers and children alike. Houston-based immigration attorney Gordon Quan shares her concern, and said that medical practitioners may be forced into the position to determine pregnant women's legal status before they can even offer treatment.
"You want to make sure that mothers have an opportunity for safe delivery, no matter what their status is, whether they be legal or undocumented," Quan said. "I think this endangers mothers who are simply having children in the state of Texas, and there’s no useful purpose."
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