There's a certain irony in writing a letter to Markwayne Mullin demanding he shut down a visa program that he already spent months trying to kill as a senator.
On April 22, 2026, Senators Mike Lee, John Cornyn, Rick Scott, and Bill Cassidy sent a letter to DHS Secretary Mullin and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum demanding closure of the CNMI Economic Vitality and Security Travel Authorization Program, known as EVS-TAP. It lets pre-screened Chinese nationals enter the Northern Mariana Islands visa-free for up to 14 days.
The senators want it gone.
NEW: Four GOP Senators, @BasedMikeLee, @JohnCornyn, @SenRickScott, & @BillCassidy, have penned a letter to DHS Secretary Mullin, urging him to close a Biden era “birth tourism” loophole that allows Chinese nationals to visit the Northern Mariana Islands for 14 days without a… pic.twitter.com/ye9Bpr6piQ
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) April 22, 2026
What EVS-TAP Is
The Northern Mariana Islands are a U.S. territory in the Pacific, about 1,700 miles from Taiwan and a short boat ride from Guam.
Babies born there are U.S. citizens. The original Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program dates to 2009.
EVS-TAP, the Biden-era subset created in 2024, added visa-free access specifically for Chinese nationals, limited to 14-day stays.
The pitch was economic. The CNMI runs on tourism, and Chinese visitors were a major revenue source.
The problem is, you're also handing easy access to U.S. soil to citizens of an adversarial nation sitting next door to two of the most strategically sensitive spots in the Pacific.
The Birth Tourism Numbers
Chinese birth tourism births in Saipan went from fewer than 10 a year in 2009 to nearly 600 by 2018.
At the peak, there were more foreign births in Saipan than U.S. births. More than 3,300 babies total have been born to Chinese mothers there since the program launched.
When those children turn 21, they can petition for green cards for their parents.
Over a 14-day trip, a child can be born with automatic U.S. citizenship. Two decades later, the parents are in line for permanent residency.
According to reports, numbers dropped to around 47 births in 2025, but the program remains unchanged.
EVS-TAP is exactly what it was in 2024. The numbers just fell.
The senators see a loophole that's still open.
It's Not Just Babies
The senators' letter goes well beyond birth certificates.
Chinese nationals have been convicted of trafficking methamphetamine into the CNMI. Others have been accused of smuggling people by boat from the islands to Guam. Guam's civilian power grid has been targeted by PRC-linked hackers.
The islands sit one boat ride from a major U.S. military base and 1,700 miles from Taiwan.
The senators want EVS-TAP gone and Hong Kong's participation in the broader Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program with it.
The Mullin Wrinkle
In January 2026, Mullin co-signed a letter with Senators Rick Scott and Jim Banks urging then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to kill EVS-TAP. Trump then tapped Mullin to replace Noem in March 2026.
So four senators are now formally urging a man who already agreed with them to do the thing he said should be done, now that he's the one who can actually do it.
Every month it stays open is a policy choice. Right now that choice belongs to Markwayne Mullin.
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