U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has initiated a new effort to uncover networks facilitating 'birth tourism,' where pregnant women travel to the United States to give birth so their children can obtain American citizenship, according to multiple reports. The initiative aims to identify and address potential violations of federal law associated with these activities.
Key Takeaways
ICE has launched a new initiative to investigate 'birth tourism' and announced arrests of criminal migrants coinciding with the one-year anniversary of its VOICE program. The agency also recalled furloughed employees despite a partial government shutdown.
- ICE targets networks facilitating birth tourism to obtain U.S. citizenship for children
- Agency announces multiple arrests of alleged illegal migrants convicted of crimes, including child injury and assault
- DHS recalls all furloughed employees during ongoing government shutdown
- VOICE program relaunched under Trump administration after being replaced by Biden's Victims Engagement and Services Line
The Trump administration has highlighted birth tourism as a rationale for attempting to restrict automatic citizenship granted under the 14th Amendment. President Donald Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office instructing U.S. agencies not to recognize the citizenship of children born in the U.S. if neither parent is an American citizen or legal permanent resident, as reported by TimesLIVE and Reuters. Multiple federal judges have blocked this order, sending the case to the Supreme Court for oral arguments.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has recalled all furloughed employees despite an ongoing partial government shutdown. President Trump signed an emergency order to ensure that DHS employees are paid for their lost compensation and benefits during the shutdown, according to Reuters. The recall notice instructed all currently furloughed employees to return to duty on their next regularly scheduled workday.
The crackdown on birth tourism comes amid broader immigration policies that have drawn criticism from Democrats and rights groups. They argue that these measures violate due process, free speech, and create an unsafe environment for minorities. The DHS chief, Markwayne Mullin, has blamed Democrats for the partial shutdown and stated that paychecks are now being processed for the recalled workforce.
ICE announced on Thursday it had arrested more alleged illegal migrants who have been convicted of various crimes, coinciding with the one-year anniversary of the agency reopening its program to support victims of migrant crime. The arrests and convictions described by ICE have not been independently verified, as reported by Fox News. The agency offered a sample of some of the arrests but did not specify how many total individuals were arrested nationwide as part of this announcement.
The ICE's Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office was relaunched on April 10, 2025, aiming to offer resources to victims of crimes committed by illegal migrants and the victims' families. The program was first launched in 2017 under President Donald Trump's first administration but was replaced in 2021 by the Victims Engagement and Services Line, a different program under the Biden administration before it was relaunched last year after Trump returned to office.
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