Rep. Nancy Mace Introduces Bill to End Birth Tourism and Protect the Integrity of American Citizenship
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 17, 2026) – Congresswoman Nancy Mace (SC-01) today introduced the American Citizenship Integrity Act, legislation to crack down on birth tourism, prosecute those profiting from it, and protect the integrity of American citizenship.
The bill establishes new criminal penalties for birth tourism schemes, bars aliens seeking to exploit birthright citizenship from entering the United States, and coordinates federal efforts to dismantle organized networks facilitating the practice.
"American citizenship isn't a travel souvenir or a commodity for sale. It's one of the greatest privileges on Earth," said Congresswoman Mace. "Birth tourism is an abuse of our immigration system. It rewards people for exploiting our laws while millions of Americans are left paying the price. Our bill shuts the door on this scam once and for all."
The American Citizenship Integrity Act would:
- Create new federal criminal penalties for individuals recruiting, transporting, or facilitating birth tourism, including penalties of up to 15 years in prison per offense and up to 30 years for organized criminal enterprises.
- Make any foreign national seeking entry for the purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship for a child inadmissible.
- Enable denaturalization proceedings for individuals convicted of fraud related to birth tourism.
- Establish the American Citizenship Integrity Interagency Task Force, co-chaired by the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security, to investigate, prosecute, and dismantle birth tourism operations while coordinating with international law enforcement partners.
- Designate a dedicated federal prosecutor in every judicial district to coordinate and supervise birth tourism and citizenship fraud cases.
"America is not the world's maternity ward. If you're exploiting our laws to manufacture U.S. citizenship, the free ride is over. This legislation puts criminal birth tourism networks on notice and gives law enforcement the tools to shut them down," Mace added.
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