The U.S. Department of State canceled more than 600 visas held by foreign nationals over the past month in an effort to dismantle birth tourism networks.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said American citizenship was not for sale, alleging that criminal organizations were directing foreign nationals to defraud the visa system and prepare fraudulent documents so their children could obtain citizenship.
Task force targets birth tourism
The department recently established the Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force to identify and dismantle these networks.
Rubio said the task force would continue reviewing the activities of visa holders and aimed to end the misuse of laws governing U.S. citizenship.

Executive order grants authority to departments
The visa cancellations followed an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on August 6. The order defined birth tourism as the deliberate exploitation of immigration policy and a threat to national security.
The order authorized the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security to permanently deny entry to people who help carry out such schemes and to cancel the relevant documents.
Rubio said the U.S. Department of State would use all the tools at its disposal to dismantle birth tourism networks and protect the integrity of American citizenship.