Texas State Representative Brian Harrison (R-Ellis) is demanding a special legislative session, aiming to make it a felony to engage in birth tourism in Texas, following Tuesday's Supreme Court ruling.
Harrison called on Texas to pass the following in a special session:
- Make it a felony to operate or participate in birth tourism within state borders
- Expand criminal offense of illegal entry to include entering for purposes of birth tourism
- Stop issuing birth certificates to children of non-citizens
- Give the Attorney General authority to investigate and prosecute birth tourism
- Ban preplanned adoption agreements and gestational surrogacy contracts if any party involved is a citizen or resident of a country of concern
- Pass a resolution formally condemning the Supreme Court's decision in Trump v. Barbara
- Pass a resolution formally demanding the U.S. Congress take any and all necessary actions to fix birthright citizenship
Florida has passed similar legislation and banned the preplanned adoption agreements Harrison calls on Texas to end.
Now, Texas Republicans are looking for ways to limit birth tourism and overpass the Supreme Court ruling.
"I am publicly demanding an immediate special session to combat the harms from mass birth tourism, pressure the federal government to fix birth tourism, and to protect the value of citizenship that countless paid the ultimate price for," Rep. Harrison wrote on X.
These actions follow a Tuesday Supreme Court ruling deciding birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the 14th amendment, dismissing an earlier executive order by the President aiming to limit it.
