US lawmakers target China and birth tourism as citizenship fight intensifies
Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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- US lawmakers held a second hearing in a week on birthright citizenship, focusing on China and birth tourism.
- The hearings followed a Supreme Court decision in June upholding birthright citizenship, which the Trump administration continues to challenge.
- Republicans described birth tourism as exploitation by foreign nationals, while Democrat Mary Gay Scanlon dismissed claims about “anchor babies” as hallucinations.
China and so-called birth tourism became targets again on Capitol Hill as US lawmakers intensified their fight over birthright citizenship.
A House Judiciary hearing on Wednesday reviewed the Supreme Court’s June decision in Trump v. Barbara, which upheld birthright citizenship, and examined possible legislative responses. The hearing followed a House Oversight session on birth tourism the previous day.
The demand for US citizenship for the children of Chinese nationals has led to unscrupulous companies assisting these individuals for profit.
Republican lawmakers focused on Chinese nationals and what they described as commercial efforts to secure US citizenship for their children. Texas Republican Chip Roy said, “The demand for US citizenship for the children of Chinese nationals has led to unscrupulous companies assisting these individuals for profit.”
China is definitely an adversary to this nation [that] has worked in many ways to undermine us.
Brandon Gill, another Texas Republican, said foreign nationals from adversarial countries were exploiting birthright citizenship. Michael Cloud called China an adversary that had worked in various ways to undermine the United States, adding, “We could spend a whole half an hour or hours actually on that.”
Democrats rejected the allegations. Pennsylvania Representative Mary Gay Scanlon said claims involving birth tourism and “anchor babies” amounted to hallucinations. The hearings took place as the Trump administration continued challenging a constitutional right the Supreme Court had upheld in June.
We could spend a whole half an hour or hours actually on that.
About this summary
Originally published by South China Morning Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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