A few weeks before her due date, Ally C. and her husband crossed the border into Cancún, Mexico, where their son Kal was born in 2023. Like many parents seeking better opportunities, Ally C.—who gave her full name to protect her identity—sought access to a passport that could open doors to her child’s future. For herself, giving birth abroad meant access to more attentive doctors and superior medical standards.
Since the Supreme Court agreed in December to hear Trump v. Barbara, a case challenging the interpretation of the 14th Amendment’s birthright citizenship clause, the concept has gained significant public attention. Proponents of President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting automatic citizenship argue that the 1868 amendment serves as a pull factor for those seeking to exploit American citizenship rights.
Courtesy of Albany J. Alvarez
N. Olvera, a Mexican citizen, traveled to the United States in 2020 to give birth to her son, who holds both U.S. and Mexican citizenship. She hopes this dual nationality will create more educational opportunities for him.
Birthright citizenship remains standard practice throughout most of the Western Hemisphere. For parents like Ally C., the decision extends beyond politics—it’s deeply personal.
“The biggest blessing of dual nationality is the freedom it grants you,” says the young mother, who is Afro-Latina. “Thanks to your citizenship-holding child, you can gain permanent residency in another country under their laws. It means you can do and be anything you want to be.”
“Birth tourism” sparks major outrage
“Birth tourism” describes individuals traveling to another country to secure citizenship for their child. This practice represents a tiny fraction of the approximately 3.6 million annual U.S. births. In 2023, about 9% (320,000) of all U.S. births were to individuals without authorization or with temporary legal status. Birth tourism accounted for an estimated 9,000 births.
President Trump’s executive order, issued on his second term’s first day, characterized citizenship as a “priceless and profound gift” not intended to universally extend to anyone born on U.S. soil. The order was immediately challenged in court, with the Supreme Court hearing oral arguments in April and preparing to announce its decision.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that birth tourism poses a national threat, telling justices: “We’re in a new world now … where 8 billion people are one plane ride away from having a child who’s a U.S. citizen.”
Chief Justice John Roberts noted that while the world has changed, “it’s the same Constitution,” reflecting observers’ belief that the court prefers constitutional principles over contemporary policy priorities. Trump’s second term has emphasized mass deportations, militarized southern border security, aggressive immigration enforcement, and restricted legal immigration.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
After giving birth, Ally C. and her son Kal walk through their Boston neighborhood on June 18, 2026.
Having more than one passport is “pragmatic”
Not everyone views a Mexican passport as limiting opportunities. When Ally C. announced her plan to give birth in Mexico, friends and family expressed skepticism. “Why would you leave America of all places?” they asked her. “Have you seen me? A Black female in the United States?”
She notes that Black women in the U.S. face maternal mortality rates three times higher than those of white women.
Ally C. documented her experience on social media, highlighting cost differences for housing, medical care, flights, and baggage fees. A world of 33 countries offer unrestricted birthright citizenship regardless of parental legal status. In 2024, fewer than 10,000 births in Mexico were registered to mothers residing outside the country—less than 1% of Mexico’s 1.67 million total births.
“Gaining citizenship in more than one country is pragmatic,” says Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute and attorney. “People increasingly feel comfortable living in more than one place in the world.”
