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119-s-4501119th Congress

BACK OFF Act

Sponsored By: Senator Cornyn, John [R-TX]

Introduced

Summary

Nationwide crackdown on birth tourism. This bill would create new crimes for people who arrange or enable birth tourism, require medical screening to spot likely U.S. births, and speed up removal of suspected cases.

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  • Visa applicants and noncitizen women of childbearing age would face mandatory medical exams by U.S. Public Health Service officers to assess whether they are likely to give birth in the United States within 10 months. A finding of high likelihood could block visa issuance or admission.
  • People and businesses that provide housing, transport, medical care, forged documents, or other services to facilitate birth tourism would face new federal crimes. Penalties would typically start at 10 years in prison and include fines up to $100,000, with some offenses carrying up to 25 years.
  • Immigration enforcement would widen. Suspected birth-tourism cases would be subject to expedited removal with an immigration judge review within 7 days, mandatory detention for certain related convictions or admissions, no waivers or parole, and a 180-day visa pause for countries that refuse repatriation.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

7 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 4 costs, 1 mixed.

Medical exams for pregnant travelers

If enacted, biological females of childbearing age who apply for B (business/pleasure) visas would be examined by a U.S. Public Health Service medical officer to see if they are likely to give birth in the United States within 10 months. A certification showing likely birth within 10 months could let a consular officer deny or delay the visa until the person is no longer considered likely to give birth. Immigration officers at arrival could briefly detain a suspected person to get the same medical exam before deciding admissibility.

Faster removal and detention rules

If enacted, the bill would add new non‑waivable inadmissibility and deportability grounds tied to birth tourism and make people convicted of related offenses subject to mandatory detention. It would create an expedited removal process where an immigration judge must review the case within 7 days and decide within 7 days whether to order removal. The person would have the burden to prove lawful permanent resident status or show they are not covered by the new birth‑tourism grounds, and courts could not review decisions under this expedited track.

New federal crimes for birth tourism

If enacted, the bill would create several federal crimes for conduct that helps birth tourism. Covered acts include forging or providing false immigration documents, helping with visa or travel to obtain a U.S. birth for a child, providing housing or transport to enable birth tourism, and health‑care fraud tied to birth tourism. Some offenses would carry minimum prison terms of 10 years, some up to 10 years for certain fraud, and some 10 to 25 years; one proposed offense would allow fines up to $100,000 per person aided.

Act takes effect on enactment

If enacted, the bill and all of its amendments would take effect on the date the President signs it into law. This clause only sets when the changes begin and does not itself change who gets benefits or the amounts involved.

DHS taskforce to target birth tourism

If enacted, the bill would create a DHS Birth Tourism Taskforce made up of USCIS, ICE, HSI, and CBP. The taskforce would investigate people and organizations that run birth‑tourism schemes, refer cases to the Department of Justice, create training for local law enforcement, coordinate with other agencies, and send an initial report one year after enactment and yearly after that to specific congressional committees.

Visa pause for noncooperative countries

If enacted, the bill would require a 180‑day pause on visa issuance for all citizens of any country that refuses to accept a returned removed person within 14 days. The pause would continue until the country agrees to accept the person. The Secretary of State and DHS Secretary could jointly allow narrow exceptions for national security or foreign policy reasons, but those exceptions may not be delegated below Deputy Secretary level and are limited to no more than 50 people per fiscal year.

Agency exemptions from paperwork rules

If enacted, the bill would let the heads of DHS, HHS, State, or DOJ skip the Paperwork Reduction Act and some Administrative Procedure Act rulemaking requirements when they determine compliance would impede immediate implementation of this Act. This would speed agency action to put the bill's rules in place but would reduce normal public notice and comment in those cases.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Cornyn, John [R-TX]

TX • R

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC]

    NC • R

    Sponsored 5/13/2026

  • Sen. Banks, Jim [R-IN]

    IN • R

    Sponsored 7/13/2026

  • Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]

    TN • R

    Sponsored 7/16/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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