Creating undeserving citizens: an analysis of the “birth tourism” discourse in the Canadian context

Abstract Debates about restricting birthright citizenship have invoked the term “birth tourism,” referring to racialized pregnant women suspected of traveling to a country with birthright citizenship solely to give birth to secure citizenship for their child. Although legal, Canadian media rhetoric frames “birth tourism” as fraudulent and stereotypes racialized immigrant mothers as morally suspect, while questioning the legitimacy of their children’s citizenship. Considering Canada’s reliance on immigration to meet population and labor needs and its self-identification as a nation that welcomes immigrants, this paper interrogates how the “birth tourism” discourse frames certain women and children as undeserving of citizenship and belonging. Our critical discourse analysis of Canadian news media illustrates how this socially accepted discourse is a vehicle for disinformation, constructing migrant mothers as a threat to health and immigration systems. We examine how the discourse produces racialized and gendered exclusion by creating an out-group of “undeserving” citizens and promoting discriminatory policies, such as restricting birthright citizenship. The discourse has implications for social belonging and access to health and social services. We aim to challenge the vilification of migrant mothers and their children and expose the structural inequities at the root of the “birth tourism” discourse in Canada.