The Trump administration’s campaign against so-called “birth tourism” appears to be having an early deterrent effect among some wealthy Chinese families. Reports circulating on Chinese social media suggest that women who had planned to travel to the United States to give birth primarily so their children could obtain American citizenship are now reconsidering those plans. Increased visa scrutiny, reports of pregnant women being denied entry and warnings from US authorities have introduced a level of uncertainty that did not previously exist.

That development may represent an important change in a practice that has operated for years as a highly commercialized industry. Birth tourism is not simply about families choosing where their children should be born. In many cases, it has involved organized networks offering accommodation, medical arrangements, transportation and other services to foreign women seeking to give birth in the United States. Some packages have cost tens of thousands of dollars.

In early August, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Ending Birth Tourism.” The order defines birth tourism as entering the United States on a nonimmigrant visa for the purpose of giving birth or facilitating another foreign national’s entry for the same purpose. It also directs the relevant US authorities to take stronger measures against those attempting to exploit the immigration system.

The administration’s position is straightforward: American citizenship should not be treated as a product that can be purchased through a carefully organized trip to the United States.

The scale of birth tourism is difficult to establish with precision because the US government does not maintain an official national database identifying babies born through such arrangements. Estimates have varied, but the Center for Immigration Studies estimated in 2020 that between 20,000 and 26,000 births annually could be associated with birth tourism. China has frequently appeared in prominent investigations involving commercial birth-tourism........

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