Abbott directs state agency to investigate birth tourism in Texas

(The Center Square) – After criticizing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week in a Fourteenth Amendment case, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday directed state action to investigate one form of visa and immigration fraud, birth tourism, which he argues will likely expand after the ruling.

In a ruling considered to be a major blow to the Trump administration, the court held that children born in the U.S. by mothers who are illegally in the country have citizenship rights.

The ruling is also seen as a blow to law enforcement currently combatting a “birth tourism” criminal networks. These networks orchestrate illegal entry and visa fraud to facilitate foreign national women giving birth in the U.S., which are also connected to extensive welfare fraud, investigators have found. Prosecutions span from California to Texas to the Read Entire Article