U.S. to limit visas for pregnant women to curb 'birth tourism'

President Donald Trump opened a new front in his battle against immigration on Thursday, January 23, barring the issuing of visas to pregnant women seeking to enter the United States for so-called "birth tourism."

In announcing the move, which takes effect Friday, January 24, the White House said foreigners were using the visas "to secure automatic and permanent American citizenship for their children by giving birth on American soil."

Temporary B-1 and B-2 visitor visas would no longer be issued to "aliens seeking to enter the United States for 'birth tourism,'" the White House said.

Calling the practice "a glaring immigration loophole," it argued that the crackdown on "birth tourism" was for public safety and national security as well as to maintain the "integrity of our immigration system."