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119-hr-10447119th Congress

American Citizenship Integrity Act

Sponsored By: Representative Mace, Nancy [R-SC-1]

Introduced

Summary

The American Citizenship Integrity Act would criminalize organized birth‑tourism trafficking and expand immigration and criminal tools to block or strip U.S. citizenship gained through schemes that arrange births in the United States.

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  • Creates a federal offense for knowingly recruiting, transporting, harboring, or facilitating non‑permanent‑resident aliens to have a child born in the U.S. with the intent to obtain U.S. citizenship. Penalties reach up to 15 years in prison for individual offenses and up to 30 years plus criminal and civil forfeiture for organized schemes involving three or more covered aliens or participants.
  • Adds a new ground of inadmissibility when a consular officer or the Secretary of Homeland Security determines an alien sought admission to obtain U.S. citizenship for a child under 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(11). It also makes convictions or admissions tied to such schemes a basis for denaturalization of naturalized citizens under amended 8 U.S.C. 1451.
  • Would create an American Citizenship Integrity Interagency Task Force co‑chaired by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to coordinate investigations and prosecutions, develop guidance for consular officers and adjudicators, work with foreign governments, and report annually with counts of births to non‑permanent‑resident parents, inadmissibility findings, prosecutions, denaturalizations, and policy recommendations.
  • Authorizes the Attorney General to appoint an Assistant U.S. Attorney in each district to coordinate investigations, prosecutions under the new offense and related fraud statutes, and denaturalization proceedings, with a 180‑day deadline to comply.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 3 costs, 0 mixed.

New federal crime for birth tourism

If enacted, the bill would make it a federal crime to knowingly recruit, transport, harbor, or otherwise help a noncitizen (except lawful permanent residents) enter the U.S. so a child born here can get citizenship. The basic penalty would be fines and up to 15 years in prison. If the conduct is part of an organized scheme involving 3 or more covered aliens or 3 or more people, penalties could rise to fines, up to 30 years, and criminal or civil forfeiture. The offense could be prosecuted in many cases, including when a U.S. national is involved or parts of the scheme touch the United States.

Stronger federal coordination and prosecutions

If enacted, the bill would create an American Citizenship Integrity Task Force within 180 days, co-chaired by the Attorney General and the Homeland Security Secretary. The Task Force would coordinate detection, investigation, guidance, and international work on organized birth-tourism fraud. It would report to Congress within one year of formation and annually after that, listing counts of births to non-LPR parents, inadmissibility findings, prosecutions, convictions, and denaturalization actions. The Attorney General would also appoint one Assistant U.S. Attorney in each federal district within 180 days to coordinate prosecutions and denaturalizations tied to these cases.

Denaturalization for birth-tourism fraud

If enacted, the bill would make a conviction or an admission for specified birth-tourism fraud serve as strong evidence to revoke naturalization. A naturalized citizen convicted of, or admitting to, acts that meet the new offense or related fraud provisions would face a presumption that they lacked good moral character or obtained naturalization by willful misrepresentation. The naturalization order and certificate would be revoked and canceled, effective back to the original naturalization date.

Visa and entry denials for birth tourism

If enacted, the bill would add a new ground of inadmissibility for people whom a consular officer or the Secretary of Homeland Security finds are seeking admission to obtain U.S. citizenship for a child by having the child born in the United States. That finding could be used to refuse a visa or deny entry. This is an access restriction targeted at people seeking so-called birth-tourism, not a general change to household benefits.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Mace, Nancy [R-SC-1]

SC • R

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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