Reuters, WASHINGTON
The US Department of Justice on Tuesday directed federal prosecutors to prioritize investigations of so-called birth tourism schemes after the US Supreme Court rejected US President Donald Trump’s attempt to restrict birthright citizenship in the US.US Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald, told employees in a memo that people who travel to the US under “false pretenses” to give birth and secure citizenship for their child could be criminally charged under laws barring visa fraud, money laundering, identity theft and wire fraud.“The Department of Justice will zealously protect the sanctity of United States citizenship by investigating and prosecuting those who fraudulently exploit our immigration system,” McDonald wrote in the memo, which was posted on social media.
People hold signs in support of birthright citizenship outside the US Supreme Court in Washington on Tuesday.
The directive came hours after the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling, struck down a Trump executive order seeking to prevent children born in the US from automatically becoming citizens if neither parent is a US citizen or a legal permanent resident.Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, who authored Tuesday’s decision, said Trump’s directive violated language in the US constitution’s 14th Amendment that guarantees citizenship to virtually anyone born in the US, with a few narrow exceptions.
