NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — A controversial business practice that helps foreign nationals travel to the United States to give birth is facing renewed scrutiny after President Donald Trump signed executive orders targeting so-called birth tourism.

The practice was first highlighted by Local 10 last year, leading to a congressional investigation into one of the offices advertising maternity services in North Miami Beach.

Dr. Wladimir Lorentz, the clinic’s head pediatrician, has promoted maternity services online in Spanish and Portuguese, offering assistance to expectant mothers seeking care in the United States.

The Trump administration argues the practice is an abuse of the immigration system, saying some people enter the country on tourist visas with the primary goal of giving birth so their children can receive U.S. citizenship.

In his executive order, Trump wrote that “citizenship is not a commodity to be acquired through calculated exploitation and evasion of the immigration law.”

“The big crackdowns, and this will give us the right to do it in a much more forceful manner,” Trump said.

The White House cited a recent report claiming about 77,000 people came to the United States in 2023 on tourist visas for what the administration describes as fraudulent purposes — including giving birth on American soil.

Children born in the United States are granted citizenship under current law, while their parents do not automatically receive citizenship.

Trump also signed a second executive order seeking to restrict birthright citizenship, despite the U.S. Supreme Court rejecting his previous attempt to limit the practice.

The new orders expand the administration’s definition of individuals who could be denied entry or removed from the country if they have participated in — or plan to participate in — what the government calls birth tourism.

Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.