A new Republican-led Senate proposal would introduce tougher federal restrictions on birth tourism, the practice in which foreign nationals travel to the United States primarily to give birth with the intention that their child receives US citizenship.

The legislation, introduced by Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, would amend immigration law to make certain foreign nationals seeking admission on visitor visas inadmissible when their primary purpose is giving birth in the United States to obtain citizenship for their child.

The proposal is known as the Birth Tourism Elimination Act and comes amid a wider Republican effort to address birth tourism and immigration enforcement.

Importantly, the legislation would not itself abolish birthright citizenship or change the citizenship status of children already born in the United States. Instead, it focuses on the immigration process and on preventing foreign nationals from using visitor visas primarily for birth tourism.

Under the proposal, US consular officers and Customs and Border Protection officials could deny a visa or admission when there is a reasonable belief that a visitor's primary purpose is to give birth in the United States to obtain citizenship for the child.

The legislation would also require certain travelers suspected of falling under the proposed restriction to undergo additional inspection.

Another major component targets businesses and individuals who facilitate the practice. The bill proposes criminal penalties for people who knowingly organize, advertise, sponsor, profit from or otherwise facilitate birth-tourism operations.

The measure was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee and, according to the Newsweek report, had no Senate cosponsors as of September 28.

The legislative push comes as the Trump administration is simultaneously expanding scrutiny of foreign nationals who hold or seek US visas.

According to the State Department information reported by Fox News, more than 250,000 visas have been revoked since Trump took office.

The department says the revocations involve a broad range of cases, including violations of visa conditions, criminal activity, fraud, abuse of the immigration system, calls for violence and national-security concerns.

State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott described the figure as a major milestone and said the department was carrying out continuous vetting of visa holders.

The number does not represent a single visa category. Instead, it covers revocations made for different reasons across the US visa system.

Birth tourism is also directly included in the State Department's reported enforcement figures.

Officials said approximately 2,300 visas had been revoked in cases connected to birth tourism.

The development follows a broader policy shift toward treating visa screening as an ongoing process rather than a one-time decision made when a visa is issued.

The State Department has also expanded online-presence screening for additional visa categories. Beginning October 1, 2026, applicants in the I, TN and TD nonimmigrant visa categories are subject to expanded online-presence review, alongside several categories that were already covered by enhanced screening.

The State Department's crackdown extends well beyond birth tourism.

Officials said a large number of visa revocations followed law-enforcement encounters involving alleged criminal conduct. Earlier in August, the department reported more than 175,000 visa revocations, with assault, driving under the influence, theft and drug-related offenses among the leading categories cited. Other cases involved reckless driving, sexual assault, child abuse, fraud and embezzlement.

The department has also revoked visas belonging to foreign officials and their family members. In one recent action, visas belonging to 27 officials, former officials and relatives from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru were revoked over allegations including corruption.

The Senate proposal is part of a larger series of immigration measures being pursued by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans.

The administration has separately introduced policies aimed at restricting birth tourism and announced visa restrictions targeting people who engage in or facilitate commercial birth-tourism operations.

The latest Senate proposal would put parts of this policy approach into federal law rather than relying solely on executive-branch action.

The legislation would also require the Department of Homeland Security, working with the State Department, to report to Congress on enforcement activity connected to the proposed birth-tourism restrictions, including visa denials, removals, investigations and prosecutions.

The Birth Tourism Elimination Act must move through Congress before it could become law. Its introduction does not immediately change birthright citizenship or automatically create new restrictions for travelers.

At the same time, the State Department's visa-revocation campaign is already underway, with officials saying continuous vetting will remain a central part of the administration's immigration policy.

Together, the developments show two parallel approaches: expanding enforcement against existing visa holders and seeking legislation that would create additional statutory restrictions on birth tourism.

The debate is likely to continue around the interpretation of birthright citizenship, the scope of executive immigration authority and the balance between visa enforcement, national security and lawful travel to the United States.