House Bill Would Impose 10–25 Year Prison Term for Birth Tourism
If enacted, the proposal would represent one of the most substantial criminal penalties attached to immigration-adjacent conduct since the Supreme Court's June 2025 birthright citizenship ruling —...
A bill introduced by Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) would establish criminal penalties of 10 to 25 years in federal prison for non-U.S. residents who travel to the United States for the sole purpose of giving birth, according to a Fox News report published July 22, 2026. The legislation follows the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this year that narrowed automatic birthright citizenship for children born to parents without lawful immigration status, a decision that reshaped the legal landscape governing citizenship acquisition at birth.
Fine's office has not yet published a formal bill number in the Congressional Record as of July 22, 2026, and the bill's text has not been posted to Congress.gov. The specific statutory language — including how prosecutors would establish that travel was undertaken 'solely' for birth purposes — is not yet publicly available. That determination would be a central evidentiary burden for any federal prosecution under the proposed statute.
Birth tourism, defined as the practice of traveling to the United States near term to secure U.S. citizenship for a newborn, has been documented by the Department of Homeland Security in prior reports, though DHS has not released a current national estimate of its annual frequency. A 2019 DHS enforcement action in California targeted businesses charging fees ranging from $15,000 to $50,000 to facilitate such arrangements, according to court filings in that case (C.D. Cal. 2019).
Congressional scholars have noted that criminalizing travel intent raises First and Fourth Amendment questions, though no formal legal challenge can be assessed until bill text is available. The Congressional Budget Office has not yet issued a cost estimate for the legislation. The bill has not been assigned to a committee, and no co-sponsors have been listed on Congress.gov as of publication.
What remains unknown: the precise statutory text of the Fine bill, its assigned committee, any co-sponsors, and whether the Department of Justice has been consulted on enforcement feasibility. The full bill text, once introduced, will be searchable on Congress.gov under Rep. Fine's sponsored legislation. A CBO score, if requested by committee leadership, would be posted at cbo.gov.