\u201cWe are following the federal statutes that we have on the books right now, and we\u2019re working with our partners in Congress to draft new legislation to give us new authorities to make sure that we can combat the threat,\u201d Patel said during the Senate Judiciary Committee\u2019s oversight hearing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want the United States of America to be open for legal immigration, not for illegal immigration, and we\u2019re going to continue to work to that end and work with our partners in Congress,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe\u2019ve asked them for more resources and legislation, and we need some bolstering in that capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patel\u2019s remarks were in response to a question from Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who is among the Republican lawmakers who have introduced legislation in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling in June that struck down President Donald Trump\u2019s bid to end automatic citizenship for all children born in the United States.<\/p>\n

Her bill and others are unlikely to pass in the current Congress given the narrow GOP majority margins in both chambers and the constraints of Senate filibuster rules. But the collaboration between the administration and lawmakers on this issue is notable, showing the White House is continuing to explore opportunities to circumvent the Supreme Court\u2019s verdict.<\/p>\n

In the months since the decision, the president\u2019s aides and allies have zeroed in on policy options for targeting \u201cbirth tourism,\u201d<\/u><\/a> including efforts to prosecute organizations and individuals involved in \u201cbirth tourism schemes\u201d<\/u><\/a> or women already in the country for fraud. Trump signed two executive orders on birthright citizenship last month, which included provisions targeting the practice.<\/p>\n

Estimates of how many women might engage in \u201cbirth tourism\u201d annually are uncertain, but U.S. Census data shows vastly fewer instances \u2014 26,000 babies a year \u2014 than the administration\u2019s estimate of more than 3.5 million yearly, according to the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Trump allies have pushed<\/u><\/a> to keep efforts to target birthright citizenship at the forefront in Republican legal and policy circles and have pressed lawmakers to introduce bills ranging from constitutional amendments to narrower measures \u2014 such as Blackburn\u2019s \u2014 targeting \u201cbirth tourism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conservative lawyers and immigration hawks argue that legislation is crucial as the Trump administration faces legal challenges: A federal judge in Maryland has blocked enforcement of Trump\u2019s August order restricting birthright citizenship while litigation proceeds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"