Texas Scorecard by Grant Halk July 24, 2026
U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill and U.S. Sen. Jim Banks have filed legislation in their respective chambers to end the awarding of citizenship to the children of illegal aliens and foreign nationals temporarily in the country.U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas has filed legislation that would disincentivize birth tourism in the United States.
Entitled the Citizenship Act of 2026, the bill seeks to define “any person who enters the United States illegally or for birth tourism” as an “invader,” and amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to exclude the children of individuals designated as invaders from birthright citizenship.
Birth tourism is the practice of pregnant foreign nationals entering the country in order to have their children in the United States, thereby making them American citizens.
This practice is especially popular in nations like China, with conservative lawmakers warning it creates a large national security risk as American-born Chinese nationals would have the ability to influence U.S. elections in the future.
“I have officially introduced the ‘Citizenship Act’ with Senator Banks, under which individuals who enter the United States illegally or for birth tourism would be classified as ‘invaders’ and therefore would be excluded from birthright citizenship,” wrote Gill in an X post.
Sen. Jim Banks (R–IN) has filed companion legislation in the Senate.
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State Rep. Brian Harrison (R–Midlothian) publicly urged Abbott to call a special legislative session in order to “MAKE IT A FELONY TO ENGAGE IN BIRTH TOURISM IN TEXAS,” arguing that Texans “deserve action, not just rhetoric.”
Harrison suggested the following changes to Texas law:
• Make birth tourism a felony by criminalizing the operation of or participation in birth-tourism businesses within Texas’ borders.
• Expand the state’s illegal-entry offense so that entering Texas “for purposes of birth tourism” would be a specific criminal violation under state law.
• Stop issuing birth certificates to children of non citizens, a move that would directly test the boundaries between state vital records authority and the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment.
• Grant the Texas attorney general explicit authority to investigate and prosecute birth-tourism schemes, adding state-level enforcement power on top of existing federal tools.
• Ban certain adoption and surrogacy arrangements by prohibiting preplanned adoption agreements and gestational surrogacy contracts if any party is a citizen or resident of a “country of concern,” mirroring provisions already enacted in Florida.
More:
https://texasscorecard.com/federal/texas-congressman-files-legislation-to-disincentivize-birth-tourism/
