“There are more than 500 firms in China that facilitate people coming from the Chinese Communist Party to give birth here in the United States.”
During oral arguments before the Supreme Court regarding birthright citizenship, the Trump administration noted the prevalence of "birth tourism," or the action of an expecting foreign national traveling to the United States with the intention of giving birth to their child on American soil, granting them US citizenship.
Kayleigh McEnany said on Fox News as the Supreme Court was in session, "There are more than 500 firms in China that facilitate people coming from the Chinese Communist Party to give birth here in the United States. Obama enabled this through loopholes dating back to 2009, and what that could mean is 1 million new voters by 2030. Imagine that, Communist Party voters."
https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/2039432731377959063?s=20
Over the years, a number of companies across the US and its territories have catered to mothers from countries such as Russia and China. Recent reports have revealed companies operating in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory in the Pacific.
Analysts have estimated that around 1,000 companies offer birth tourism services to US territories and the mainland. They claim that in China alone, 1.5 million American-born babies are being raised by Chinese parents who have participated in such services.
Among such companies is the Shanghai-based GlobalBaby8, which advertises "economy" packages for expecting mothers starting at $14,000, and a "Supreme Type" package that starts at $45,000 and includes features such as a luxury villa, shopping and leisure trips, dedicated postpartum nanny service, and a one-month birthday party for the child.
Another company, China Mifubaby Group, has offices in California and multiple Chinese cities, and caters to Korean and Japanese moms-to-be, advertising "expedited visas," "American citizenship," and "short direct flight distance."
A 2017 report from the Wall Street Journal noted that the number of American babies born to Chinese women on the Mariana Islands hit 472 in 2016, up from eight in 2009. The report stated, "An association of Chinese birth-tour operators estimated that 10,000 Chinese birth tourists came to the US in 2012."
In Miami, the business Have My Baby in Miami advertises "complete logistical support" for foreign nationals looking to have babies in the US. It claims to have helped deliver over 2,000 babies. A New Jersey hospital came under fire in 2016 after it was revealed that a company based in the Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center was encouraging Russian women to come to the center to give birth on US soil. The company, AmeriMama, offered "tour" packages that coordinated medical services at the hospital and promised to secure citizenship papers for the baby.
Some companies have been cracked down on in recent years. Dongyuan Li pleaded guilty in 2019 to running the birth tourism company You Win USA Vacation Services, which was based in Southern California. In 2015, ICE raided around 40 locations in Southern California that were tied to birth tourism operations.
A 2022 Senate Homeland Security Committee report stated that once it began its investigation into birth tourism, two companies—Ada International in California and Miami Mama in Florida—ceased operations. Ada International, also known as US Baby Ada’s, catered to Chinese expecting mothers. Packages started at $22,000 and went as high as $38,000. The company offered visa consulting services for the expecting mothers, as well as housing and heathcare arrangements. Miami Mama catered to Russian women and had branch offices in Russia and Ukraine. The Senate report stated that Miami Mama served between "50 and 80 birth tourists" on an annual basis. Packages went up to nearly $50,000 for a VIP experience.
Republican lawmakers demanded in an early March letter to Trump administration cabinet secretaries data on the scope of the issue. The 2022 Senate report stated that the State Department had said at the time that it does not "comprehensively track birth tourism."
The report noted that there are trends among those who come to the US for the purposes of giving birth: declarations of cash ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, numerous return visits to the United States, and medical bill adjustments.
In 2009, the Obama administration changed its immigration policy, allowing Chinese and Russian tourists visa-free entry for up to 45 days. In 2015, the Senate report said, the State Department changed its policies, making it easier to access the United States for the purposes of birth tourism. A cable stated that tourists "traveling for the purpose of giving birth should be evaluated in the same manner as applicants traveling for other medical purposes." A 2020 rule change cracked down on birth tourism.
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