The U.S. has proposed a new rule that would require parents to prove their own citizenship or immigration status before their children can get a U.S. passport.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The State Department's draft guidance, as told by  Reuters, is part of President Donald Trump's wider push to limit birthright citizenship across America.

This proposal hangs on Trump’s August 6 order, which specifically targeted what U.S. officials described as ‘birth tourism’, a common phenomenon that the country is grappling with, especially with immigrants and visitors.

“The Department will require parental information and evidence of parental citizenship or immigration status as part of its determination ‌whether the ⁠applicant is subject to EO 14418,” the State Department draft read.

📌 What You Need to Know

Birth tourism refers to expectant mothers travelling to the U.S. mainly to give birth so their child automatically becomes an American citizen.

Under the new proposal, citizenship could be withheld from children whose parents work for a foreign government, commit fraud, or are classified as alien enemies.

This move has been in the works for President Trump and has since inception, been at the top of the list in the crackdown on immigration, which the ⁠U.S. Supreme Court ruled his previous attempt violated the country's Constitution.

For Kenyans living in America without a green card, this proposal could mean extra scrutiny whenever they apply for their children's passports.

It does not automatically imply that every Kenyan without permanent residency will be denied, since the decision is on the U.S. Supreme Court’s turf.

The proposal also implies that Kenyan mothers considering travelling to the U.S. purely to give birth could find the journey riskier, since birth tourism already breaks visa rules.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke