US Influencers Sell 'Sovereign Baby' Guides: Children Without Birth Certificates and Passports
A movement on US social media encourages parents not to register births and sells courses on getting passports for children without birth certificates. Experts warn such children may fall through society's cracks.
A growing number of social media influencers in the United States are selling paid guides that show parents how to obtain passports for their children without birth certificates or Social Security numbers. Followers call these children "sovereign babies." The idea grew out of the "sovereign citizen" movement, an anti-government current whose members have for almost half a century believed US law does not apply to them. The trend is described by Wired magazine.
What is on offer
Kristin LaHargoue, who lives in central Utah, has more than 88,000 Instagram followers on @veda.revival. She says her family has visited over 40 countries and that her two US-born sons travel without birth certificates or Social Security numbers. She argues that registering a birth places a child under "the jurisdiction of the US corporation."
For $497 she sells a bundle of videos and templates for obtaining passports based on "nationality" rather than "citizenship," and $997 buys personal guidance. LaHargoue says she has worked with over 1,000 parents, and an affiliate program pays 15 to 20 percent commission. Another influencer, who calls herself Minister Dionne, charges up to $555 for similar bundles. LaHargoue declined Wired's interview request, citing the coming birth of her third child.
Scale and causes
The number of sovereign babies cannot be measured. One often-cited estimate puts sovereign citizens at 100,000 to 300,000 people. Adam Bojak, a family law attorney in western New York, says he used to see about one such client a year and now sees roughly six, which he links to the aftereffects of Covid. Tess Ulrey of the Coalition for Responsible Home Education notes the movement has grown alongside homeschooling. The National Home Education Research Institute estimates 3.4 million US children are homeschooled, up from 1.4 million in 2003.
Legal basis and risks
Adherents rely on the "straw man theory," which claims a birth certificate lets the government use a child as "human capital" to back national debt. Family law attorney Christopher Melcher says no US court has sided with sovereign citizens on these arguments. Experts say children without documents may struggle to drive, find jobs or secure housing.
