The Trump administration is suspending a visa-free travel program for some Chinese nationals visiting the Northern Mariana Islands, tightening a route Republicans have linked to “birth tourism.” The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the suspension will take effect on October 30 while officials review the program, according to a notice published in the Federal Register on October 27. Birth tourism generally refers to foreign nationals traveling temporarily to the United States to give birth, with the aim of obtaining U.S. citizenship for their child before returning to their home country. The Biden-era program, known as the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program, or EVS-TAP, allows prescreened Chinese nationals to visit the U.S. territory without a visa for up to 14 days.
Travelers using the program are limited to the Northern Mariana Islands and cannot travel to Guam, the U.S. mainland, or other parts of the country. The Northern Mariana Islands are a self-governing U.S. territory in the western Pacific. DHS said in a Federal Register notice that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin determined there was “good cause” to suspend the program.
Federal rules allow it to be suspended over concerns including national security, law enforcement and immigration enforcement. The department said it will review the program in consultation with the State and Interior departments. Vicky Benavente, acting board chairwoman of the Marianas Visitors Authority, said she was “deeply concerned” by the suspension, noting that Chinese visitors accounted for more than 20 percent of arrivals in fiscal year 2026.
Newsweek contacted DHS for comment via email. In April, Republican Senators Mike Lee of Utah, Rick Scott of Florida, John Cornyn of Texas and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana urged the administration to scrap EVS-TAP, arguing that it encouraged birth tourism. The suspension comes as the Trump administration and congressional Republicans push to crack down on birth tourism and narrow birthright citizenship.
The Supreme Court on June 30 struck down Trump’s executive order seeking to deny automatic citizenship to children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily in the country. Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said in a statement shared with Newsweek, “The Supreme Court already decided this issue: Birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Constitution. No additional executive order can change the meaning of the Constitution.
Any executive order that tries to rewrite birthright citizenship will meet the same fate as the last one." House Republicans have also proposed restricting birthright citizenship for some future births in U.S. territories, while the administration has pursued other measures aimed at birth tourism and citizenship rules. Trump stepped up those restrictions on August 6, signing an executive order directing the State and Homeland Security departments to prevent foreign nationals from using nonimmigrant visas for birth tourism. The order allows officials to consider denying or revoking visas and travel authorizations and taking action against people who facilitate such travel.
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