MVA monitoring Trump birth tourism order, possible impact on CNMI tourism

The Marianas Visitors Authority is monitoring how the Trump administration’s new executive order targeting birth tourism will be carried out and what impact it could have on the CNMI’s visitor markets.

MVA board chair Warren Villagomez said the tourism agency supports federal efforts to prevent abuse of immigration programs while maintaining legitimate travel to the islands.

“The MVA respects the federal government’s responsibility to administer and enforce the nation’s immigration laws. We do not promote or support birth tourism or any travel intended to circumvent federal law,” Villagomez said.

Villagomez said MVA has historically backed safeguards aimed at curbing birth tourism, including reducing the maximum stay for eligible Chinese nationals under the former CNMI-only discretionary parole policy from 45 days to 14 days, along with stronger screening and pre-travel vetting requirements.

He said those measures show that maintaining tourism access and protecting the integrity of U.S. borders can go hand in hand.

Villagomez also pointed to what MVA described as progress under the CNMI Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program.

“During recent discussions in Washington, D.C., U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) acknowledged that birth tourism has been significantly curtailed since the implementation of EVS-TAP,” Villagomez said.

According to Villagomez, CBP also reported that the CNMI’s visitor overstay rate is less than one-quarter of 1%, significantly below the national average.

“The MVA will coordinate with all public and private sector partners to understand any new procedures and assess their potential effects on our visitor markets,” he said.

King-Hinds, in an earlier interview with Marianas Press, said the executive order is generally consistent with her position that legitimate visitors should be welcomed while people who use tourist entry programs with the intent to violate immigration laws should not.

King-Hinds said her initial review indicated the order did not appear to affect the CNMI’s existing tourism entry programs, but its actual impact would depend on how the Department of Homeland Security implements it.

She also said birth tourism was already prohibited under existing immigration rules.

“It's been illegal. It is illegal today,” King-Hinds said, explaining that someone entering on a tourist visa is representing that the purpose of the trip is tourism, not giving birth.

Right to Democracy, meanwhile, has raised a separate concern about the executive order’s language involving U.S. territories and citizenship.

The organization said the order comes amid congressional legislation that would end statutory birthright citizenship for people born in the CNMI, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands beginning Jan. 1, 2027.

Right to Democracy co-director Neil Weare said the organization believes the order’s language could encourage U.S. Congress to pursue such legislation. Right to Democracy also argued that the issue carries particular significance for the CNMI because citizenship was negotiated as part of the Covenant establishing the Commonwealth’s political relationship with the United States.