The Supreme Court handed down a significant ruling this week, striking down President Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship in a 5-4 decision. The order had sought to deny automatic citizenship to children born on U.S. soil if their parents were in the country illegally or on temporary visas. The court ruled that the 14th Amendment clearly grants citizenship to anyone born in the United States.
The margin matters. A 5-4 split is not a sweeping rebuke. Four justices sided with the administration, which signals this debate is far from settled.
As originally reported, the Department of Justice wasted no time responding. A top official issued a department-wide memo directing federal prosecutors to make investigations and prosecutions of birth tourism schemes a priority. The speed of the memo’s release suggests it was prepared in advance, drafted in anticipation of the court’s decision.
The DOJ had already classified birth tourism as a national security threat before the ruling came down. The practice involves pregnant women either overstaying visas or entering the country illegally specifically to give birth on American soil, securing citizenship for their child in the process.
The memo makes clear that anyone caught trying to exploit the system will face consequences.
It is not a new problem. In 2019, Dongyuan Li pleaded guilty to federal charges related to running a birth tourism operation and received a 10-month prison sentence. Critics argued at the time that the punishment was too light to serve as a real deterrent.
Whether stiffer enforcement will follow remains to be seen, but the DOJ’s swift action signals a shift in approach. The department is putting operators of these schemes on notice that prosecutions are coming, regardless of what the Supreme Court ruled about the constitutional underpinning of birthright citizenship itself.
The court may have preserved the 14th Amendment’s guarantee. But the Justice Department is making clear there are still federal tools available to go after those who try to game the process.