I’ve been covering for at least 4 years the scandal of “birth tourism” — pregnant women from China paying a lot of money to hole up in Southern California for a couple of months so their upcoming baby can be granted the pecuniary benefits of American birthright citizenship — because the advertisements in Chinese are so clear about what chumps we Americans are with our schmaltzy ideas about immigration.
Finally, early this month the federal government raided 20 birth tourism operations in SoCal.
But it looks like most of the Chinese customers are going to get birthright citizenship for their future kid anyway, sending a message to foreigners to keep engaging in this scam. From the OC Register:
‘Birth tourism’ investigation: Expectant moms from China not backing down, still want U.S. babiesLike I said, unclear on the concept …March 13, 2015 Updated March 16, 2015 11:24 p.m.
By ROXANA KOPETMAN / STAFF WRITER
Most, if not all, of the women at the center of a suspected birth tourism operation in Irvine, who traveled from China to give birth to American babies, are sticking with their plan. They won’t go back home until their babies are born.
They have hired attorneys. Their husbands or other family members have flown in. And while they are preparing to leave the Irvine apartment complex where they were staying, they’re looking for new places in Southern California to hunker down during their pregnancies.
Meanwhile, the government is looking to build a case against the company that brought the women to Orange County, along with two similar companies operating in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties that specialize in a practice dubbed birth tourism.
In court hearings this week, four of the Chinese visitors in Orange County and 24 in Riverside were designated as material witnesses, meaning they are temporarily required to remain in the country, said Thom Mrozek, public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in L.A.
Homeland Security Investigations agents accuse the operators of three birth tourism companies of various crimes, including visa fraud, tax evasion, money laundering and conspiracy.The government is targeting the companies and not the pregnant women.
No charges have been filed against any of the companies: You Win USA Vacation Resort, USA Happy Baby Inc. and Star Baby Care. …
The women paid $40,000 to $60,000 to You Win for the accommodations and services, which include meals, transportation and outings. That fee did not include medical and hospital bills, Liang said. …
