The World and Everything In It 3.12.26 American citizenship laws, global religious freedom, and raising grandchildren
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Mar 12, 2026 Maria Baer, cultural commentator on status and family, and Knox Thames, former State Department advisor on religious minorities, discuss birthright citizenship, organized birth tourism, and upcoming Supreme Court questions. They explore global religious freedom, persecution hotspots, and U.S. diplomacy. A personal report examines grandparents raising grandchildren and the strains and faith that sustain kin caregivers.
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Lack Of Data Makes Birth Tourism Hard To Measure
- The U.S. lacks systematic tracking of birth tourism, making scale hard to verify.
- Schweitzer acknowledged no formal government data exists and that missing data itself contributes to the problem's opacity.
Birthright Citizenship Raises National Security Questions
- Some birth tourism and surrogacy cases involve people linked to the Chinese Communist Party, raising national security concerns.
- Schweitzer cited military officers, propaganda ministry staff, and examples of dozens of children born via surrogacy to CCP-connected individuals in California.
USCIRF Pushes Expanded Designations For Religious Persecution
- US Commission on International Religious Freedom recommends expanded country designations and monitoring for abuses.
- Vicki Hartzler urged listing 18 countries of particular concern and added Syria and Libya due to ongoing killings, kidnappings, and arrests for faith.