Chinese birth tourism agencies are commonly misunderstood as taking advantage of a “loopholes” in U.S. law. But they should be viewed as criminal smuggling operations.
Category: Birth Tourism
Is Air-Born Baby a U.S. Citizen?
The BBC and other media recently reported that a woman flying China Airlines from Taipei to Los Angeles on 7 October went into labor and delivered a healthy baby girl with the help of a doctor on board. The plane was diverted to Alaska.
U.S. Visas for Medical Treatment
More Chinese patients are checking into travel abroad for healthcare needs, helped by a rising demand for better quality medical care and sophisticated treatments, according to a recent article by Caixin. Below, I look at the driving forces behind the increase in so-called medical tourism, some differences between the U.S. and Chinese health care systems, the doctor-patient…
Donald Trump Meet Wong Kim Ark, the father of “Birthright Citizenship”
In 1895, the U.S. government, egged on by a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment, brought a test case in an effort to undermine the 14th Amendment’s birthright citizenship provision. The Washington Post tells the story.
CNN on Jeb Bush’s “Anchor Baby” Comments (Quoting Gary Chodorow)
MJ Lee of CNN Politics has written “5 Things to Know about the Asian Anchor Baby Controversy,” quoting attorney Gary Chodorow. Jeb Bush was trying to dig himself out from a pile of criticism for using the term “anchor babies.” But his comments at a press conference Monday only brought heaps of new outrage. Defending…
Feds Raid Birth Tourism Businesses in Southern California (BBC, USA Today Interview Gary Chodorow)
On March 3, 2015, federal law enforcement officers executed search warrants at about 37 Southern California locations in what is potentially the biggest federal criminal case to date against birth tourism agencies.
Shady Chinese Agencies Promoting U.S. Birth Tourism–Part 3: Policy Responses
This three-part series looks at shady Chinese agencies promoting U.S. birth tourism. Part 1 is an English translation of an investigative report about these agencies by Yicai, a Chinese financial news website. It focuses on the motivations of the intended parents from Mainland China. Part 2 discusses Hong Kong’s struggle with the problem. A crackdown by…
Chinese Turning to American Surrogate Mothers
Chinese couples who are unable to have children are turning to a surprising place for help these days: America. By hiring American surrogates, Chinese couples get around a ban on surrogacy in China. Also, by having a child born abroad, parents skirt the one-child policy and get a U.S. passport for their child. These same…
Chinese Birth Tourism (Story by Germany’s ARD TV)
Germany’s public broadcaster, ARD, has a story on Chinese birth tourism to the U.S. Karin Dohr interviewed attorney Gary Chodorow for the story. Chodorow says that birth tourism can put couples at risk if they misrepresent the purprose of their visit to the U.S. Consulate when applying for a visa or to U.S. Customs when entering the…
Birth Tourism: $50,000 for a U.S. Birth Certificate?
The governor of the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI), Eloy Inos, and the territory’s delegate to the U.S. Congress, Gregorio Kilili Sablan, say they are working to try to stop birth tourism.
Birth Tourists Face Prison in Hong Kong
About 420 mainland Chinese women have been sentenced to prison in Hong Kong since October 2010 for violating immigration laws in order to give birth in the city, according to Te-Ping Chen of the Wall Street Journal.
Shady Chinese Agencies Promoting U.S. Birth Tourism–Part 2: Hong Kong’s Struggle with the Problem
This series looks at shady Chinese agencies promoting U.S. birth tourism:
Shady Chinese Agencies Promoting U.S. Birth Tourism–Part 1: Undercover Investigation
This series looks at shady Chinese agencies promoting U.S. birth tourism:
U.S. and Hong Kong Wary of Birth Tourism
The United States and Hong Kong encourage medical tourism. Patients are drawn by the high standard of care, and hospitals find this business to be disproportionately profitable. But both are wary of “birth tourism,” i.e., women entering as visitors with the intent to give birth.