Trump turns to China in renewed birthright citizenship push

Lead

President Donald Trump has shifted his attention from the US Supreme Court to China after the court rejected his attempt to restrict birthright citizenship. In a social media post, Trump sarcastically congratulated Chinese President Xi and the "Great Country of China" on their "massive Birthright Citizenship WIN!"—a remark that, as reported by the South China Morning Post, came shortly before the Department of Justice instructed federal prosecutors to prioritise investigations of so-called "birth tourism" schemes.

The moves come in the wake of the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling on June 30, which held that children born in the United States to non-citizen parents are citizens at birth under the 14th Amendment, striking down Trump's executive order that sought to deny citizenship documents to such children. The executive order, signed on Trump's first day back in office, had directed federal agencies to deny citizenship documents to children born in the US when their parents were undocumented or present under temporary visas. After lower courts blocked the policy, the Supreme Court ruled decisively against it.

Coverage comparison

Two outlets have covered this story from different angles. The Guardian, reporting from a UK perspective, focuses on Trump's claim of "shocking new evidence"—a Texas hospital advertising its services to expectant mothers in Mexico—and frames the president's response as an exaggeration, noting that his social media post appeared to "wildly exaggerate" a Fox News report about two billboards. The Guardian also highlights Trump's warning that the justices "will destroy America if they don't change their absolutely insane decision."

The South China Morning Post, based in Asia, provides a more neutral account, detailing the administration's pivot to enforcement and legislation. It reports on the Department of Justice's instruction to federal prosecutors, House Speaker Mike Johnson's examination of legislation addressing women who enter the country to give birth, and the lack of direct federal data on how many women enter the US primarily to give birth, noting that births to women living in China represent a minute share of US births.

Key claims

• The US Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump's attempt to restrict birthright citizenship, ruling on June 30 that children born in the US to non-citizen parents are citizens under the 14th Amendment. This fact is reported by both The Guardian and the South China Morning Post.

• Trump made a sarcastic social media post about China's "Birthright Citizenship WIN!" after the ruling, as reported by the South China Morning Post. The post was addressed to President Xi and referred to China as the "Great Country of China."

• The Department of Justice instructed federal prosecutors to prioritise investigations of "birth tourism" schemes, a move reported by the South China Morning Post.

• US House Speaker Mike Johnson said lawmakers were examining legislation addressing women who enter the country to give birth, according to the South China Morning Post.

• No federal data set directly measures how many women enter the US primarily to give birth, and available figures indicate that births to women living in China represent a minute share of US births, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

• Trump claimed the existence of "shocking new evidence"—a hospital in Texas advertising its services to expectant mothers in Mexico on billboards. The Guardian reports that the hospital in Mission, Texas, advertised "delivery packages" on two Spanish-language billboards in Mexico and on social media, as confirmed by Fox News. The Guardian notes that Trump's post describing billboards "all over our Southern Border, and Mexico" appeared to be a wild exaggeration of the Fox News report on just two billboards.

• The governor of Texas ordered an investigation of the hospital for promoting "birth tourism," as reported by The Guardian.

• Trump issued an executive order ending birthright citizenship on his first day back in office, as reported by both The Guardian and the South China Morning Post. The order was later blocked by lower courts and ultimately rejected by the Supreme Court.

Context

The Supreme Court rarely grants requests to rehear cases, and The Guardian notes that it has not done so after issuing a ruling in an argued case in decades. Trump has indicated he will ask the court to reconsider its ruling in light of the hospital's advertising, which he described as "shocking new evidence."

The Fox News report, which The Guardian references, was based on a photograph of one billboard posted on social media in April by Mayra Flores, a Trump-backed former Republican congresswoman from Texas who was born in Mexico and is running to return to Congress. The image has been recirculated recently as Trump supporters have called for restrictions on pregnant women entering the United States.

Giving birth while visiting the United States is not, in itself, a criminal offence. As the South China Morning Post reports, prosecutions described as "birth tourism" cases have generally relied instead on allegations of visa fraud, conspiracy, money laundering or other offences involving travellers who allegedly concealed the purpose of their visits and businesses that helped them do so.