US lawmakers target China, birth tourism as citizenship fight intensifies

US lawmakers targeted China and birth tourism on Wednesday for the second time this week during hearings on birthright citizenship, a constitutional right upheld by the Supreme Court in June but still under challenge from the Trump administration..

“The demand for US citizenship for the children of Chinese nationals has led to unscrupulous companies assisting these individuals for profit,” said Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas.

Wednesday’s Judiciary hearing was called to review June’s Supreme Court birthright decision in Trump vs Barbara and explore potential legislative responses. This followed Tuesday’s House Oversight session on birth tourism.

Brandon Gill, a Republican from Texas, said on Tuesday that the concept of birthright citizenship is being exploited by foreign nationals, including those from adversarial nations such as China and Russia.

“China is definitely an adversary to this nation [that] has worked in many ways to undermine us,” added Michael Cloud, another Texas Republican, responding to expert testimony. “We could spend a whole half an hour or hours actually on that.”

Mary Gay Scanlon, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, said allegations surrounding birth tourism and “anchor babies” amounted to hallucinations.