Birthright Citizenship

Sens. Rick Scott of Florida, Jim Banks of Indiana and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma have asked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to terminate the Guam–CNMI Visa Waiver Program for Chinese travelers, arguing it fuels Chinese 'birth tourism' in the Northern Mariana Islands and creates long‑term security risks. In a Jan. 15 letter, they say allowing mainland Chinese and Hong Kong passport holders to enter Guam and the Northern Marianas visa‑free for short stays has spawned an industry of women giving birth there to secure U.S. citizenship for their children, who they warn could later seek sensitive federal jobs with Mandarin fluency. The push comes as Scott advances a separate November bill to bar surrogacy in the U.S. for residents of certain countries, including China, and as President Trump has publicly complained that China is 'making a big business' out of exploiting birthright citizenship. Local Republican delegate Kimberlyn King‑Hinds counters that births to tourists on Saipan have plunged from 581 in 2018 to just 58 in 2024 and says 'birth tourism' is not overwhelming the islands’ lone public hospital compared with foreign births in the mainland U.S. Conservative think‑tank voices at the Heritage Foundation argue no visa‑waiver should exist for China at all because of weak information‑sharing and overstay risks, underscoring how a once‑technical territorial travel program has become swept into the broader fight over Chinese influence, security vetting and the future of birthright citizenship.