Former acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli clashed with CNN anchor Erica Hill on Tuesday after she pushed back on his claims that birth tourism is a widespread issue in the United States.
Cuccinelli's unsubstantiated claims
Appearing on 'CNN News Central' following the Supreme Court's ruling on birthright citizenship, Cuccinelli asserted that birth tourism is 'a full-blown industry in this country.' He claimed, without providing evidence, that 42% of children born from birth tourism in California are from China.
Hill immediately challenged those numbers. 'I would point out the numbers on birth tourism are not clear at this point,' she said. 'Not that there aren't concerns about it.' She also noted that polling indicates a majority of Americans support birthright citizenship.
Interview ends in acrimony
As Cuccinelli attempted to talk over her, Hill wrapped up the segment by thanking him for joining. Cuccinelli responded, 'Boy, you are a left-wing hack.' Hill replied, 'Wow, it’s unfortunate that you felt the need to say that. I appreciate you coming on to answer fair questions,' as Cuccinelli abruptly disconnected.
Lack of evidence for birth tourism claims
Cuccinelli's source for his claims remains unclear. A 2020 study from the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for lower immigration, estimated 20,000 to 26,000 birth tourism cases per year using 2016-2017 data. That represents less than 1% of the 3.86 million births in the U.S. in 2017. In contrast, a Niskanen Center calculation found 'an estimate of birth tourists statistically indistinguishable from zero.'
