The House Oversight Committee is launching a probe into four companies profiting from apparent “birth tourism” to the US, in which expectant mothers — many from China and Russia — may be committing visa fraud to obtain American citizenship for their babies.
Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) fired off letters to the maternity firms in Florida, Texas and California on Thursday, asking for records about their marketing materials and “the number of clients serviced and amount of fees collected for childbirth packages.”
“The benefits of US citizenship are a unique privilege,” wrote Comer and Gill, who chairs the Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses.
“However, as foreign expectant mothers traveling for this purpose come predominantly from China and Russia, there are concerns that the birth tourism industry is giving rise to potential national security and election integrity threats posed by adversarial nations that challenge US interests,” they said.
“While it is not inherently illegal for a foreign traveler to give birth in the United States, willfully misrepresenting one’s intentions to enter the country on a temporary visitor visa is a violation of current law and considered visa fraud,” they added.
The GOP lawmakers said that websites for each of the companies — Have My Baby in Miami, the El Paso, Texas-based International Maternity Services and Doctores Para Ti, as well as Dr. Athiya Javid’s OB/GYN clinic in San Diego, Calif. — indicate each “is engaged in birth tourism.”
All are marketing their services “explicitly” to foreign mothers, the Republicans noted, and providing additional “legal consultations” and support such as temporary housing and step-by-step instructions for making trips to give birth in the US.
Doctores Para Ti even directly boasted of engaging in the practice in social media posts that stated: “#BirthTourism.”
The letter demands a response with documents and communications by May 28.
Tens of thousands of babies are born each year to women in the US on tourist visas. In 2020, as many as 26,000 foreign mothers gave birth, according to an analysis from the conservative Center for Immigration Studies. That figure rose to roughly 70,000 by 2023, that same group found. --->READ MORE HERE
Dr. Athiya Javid, an Indian American doctor in San Jose, is being investigated by the U.S government for allegedly facilitating “birth tourism.” According to the allegations, the doctor and three companies — Doctores Para Ti, Have My Baby in Miami, and International Maternity Services — advertised birth tourism services through their websites.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Brandon Gill sent letters Thursday to the maternity firms in Florida, Texas, and California, requesting records related to their marketing materials and “the number of clients serviced and amount of fees collected for childbirth packages.” They pointed out that foreign mothers who visit the U.S. with the explicit purpose of giving birth there come predominantly from Russia and China, causing concerns about national security.
“The benefits of U.S. citizenship are a unique privilege,” wrote Comer and Gill, who chairs the Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses.
“However, as foreign expectant mothers traveling for this purpose come predominantly from China and Russia, there are concerns that the birth tourism industry is giving rise to potential national security and election integrity threats posed by adversarial nations that challenge U.S. interests,” they said.
“While it is not inherently illegal for a foreign traveler to give birth in the United States, willfully misrepresenting one’s intentions to enter the country on a temporary visitor visa is a violation of current law and considered visa fraud,” they added. --->READ MORE HERE
If you like what you see, please "Like" and/or Follow us on FACEBOOK here, GETTR here, and TWITTER here.
No comments:
Post a Comment