WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is working with Congress on legislation aimed at restricting so-called birth tourism, FBI Director Kash Patel told senators Tuesday. Patel said the administration is seeking new authority to pursue women who come to the United States to give birth, a practice administration officials have linked to efforts to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children. “We are following the federal statutes that we have on the books right now, and we’re working with our partners in Congress to draft new legislation to give us new authorities to make sure that we can combat the threat,” Patel said during an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The FBI director said the administration wants the country to remain open to “legal immigration, not illegal immigration” and is seeking additional resources and legislation. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, asked Patel about the administration’s efforts. Blackburn is among the lawmakers who have introduced bills targeting birth tourism since the Supreme Court ruled in June against Trump’s attempt to end automatic citizenship for children born in the United States. The legislation faces steep obstacles. Republicans hold narrow majorities in both chambers, and Senate filibuster rules generally require 60 votes to advance major legislation. Blackburn’s bill and similar proposals are therefore unlikely to pass under the current political balance, according to the assessment presented at the hearing. The administration and its allies have continued pursuing narrower approaches since the Supreme Court ruling. Those efforts include potential prosecutions of people and organizations accused of arranging birth-tourism schemes, as well as possible fraud cases involving women already in the country. Trump also signed two executive orders last month that included provisions targeting the practice. The scale of birth tourism remains disputed. U.S. Census data indicates roughly 26,000 babies connected to the practice are born in the country each year, according to the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. That figure is far below the administration’s estimate of more than 3.5 million annually. Conservative lawyers and immigration restriction advocates have urged Congress to keep pursuing birthright-citizenship restrictions as the administration faces legal challenges. A federal judge in Maryland has blocked enforcement of Trump’s August order restricting birthright citizenship while the case proceeds. The administration’s proposed legislation would represent a new effort to limit access to citizenship through federal law after the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s broader executive action. Any measure would likely face challenges over the constitutional guarantee of citizenship for people born in the United States, as well as opposition from immigrant-rights advocates and congressional Democrats.