Rep. Nancy Mace is taking aim at the lucrative birth tourism industry with new legislation that would dramatically increase the federal government’s ability to prosecute businesses that help foreign nationals travel to the United States for the purpose of securing citizenship for their children.
The South Carolina Republican introduced the American Citizenship Integrity Act on September 17, proposing new criminal penalties of up to 15 years behind bars for individuals involved in birth tourism schemes and as many as 30 years for organized criminal enterprises.
The legislation represents a significant change in how Washington would approach an industry that federal authorities have previously prosecuted largely through immigration fraud, visa fraud and money laundering statutes.
