Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks at the Texas GOP convention in the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston Friday, June 12, 2026.
Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle
Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday escalated a statewide crackdown on so-called birth tourism, a rare practice that has inflamed Republicans and drawn ire in the debate over immigration.
Abbott signed an executive order directing several state agencies to investigate health care providers accused of helping foreigners travel to Texas to give birth. Penalties include suspending or revoking licenses and losing state contracts.
“U.S. citizenship is not for sale, and Texas will put a stop to individuals seeking to profit from birth tourism,” Abbott said in a statement.
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Birth tourism refers to pregnant women who travel to the United States to give birth so their baby has American citizenship. It is not illegal for foreign nationals to give birth on U.S. soil, although the law says tourist visas cannot be granted for the primary purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship.
Republicans have raised alarm bells about the practice in recent months, and President Donald Trump made it central to his argument to end birthright citizenship.
Related: Gov. Greg Abbott directs state agency to investigate South Texas hospital over birth tourism
Trump made birth tourism a focus of his first administration, frequently referring to American-born children of immigrants and tourists as “anchor babies.” Immediately after taking office again in 2025, he signed an executive order to end birthright citizenship.
The Supreme Court last month ruled against the administration, saying the 14th Amendment confers citizenship to nearly all children born on U.S. soil.
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U.S. Rep Brandon Gill, a Flower Mound Republican, alleged without evidence that birth tourism “is happening at a scale that is hard to fathom,” and state Rep. Brian Harrison, a Midlothian Republican, called for a special legislative session to eliminate the practice. The Justice Department has pledged to prosecute such cases.
Earlier this month, Abbott asked the state’s health and human services commission to investigate Mission Regional Medical Center near the U.S. Southern border after the facility’s Spanish-language advertisements circulated on social media. The ads showed the cost of delivering a baby at the hospital, along with a phone number and website — havemybabyintexas.com — which are no longer in service.
In response, the hospital said it pulled the ads and would cooperate with local and state officials.
Just how extensive is birth tourism?
No U.S. agency tracks the data, but several groups use federal research to develop estimates.
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In 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported nearly 9,600 births to foreign residents. The CDC figures do not distinguish whether women traveled to the U.S. for the sole purpose of giving birth.
In 2020, the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports restrictions on immigration, estimated 20,000 to 26,000 birth tourists a year.
Last month, researchers at Penn State found babies born to tourists ranged from 5,000 to 10,000 a year, or 0.3% of annual births in the United States. The team used data from the National Center for Health Statistics, which provides demographics of all live births.
Abbott said he will ask state lawmakers in next year’s legislative session to “strengthen state law and eliminate birth tourism in Texas.”
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Related: Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship, rejecting Trump’s proposed limits