Agents target industry helping Chinese women have US babies

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Agents target industry helping Chinese women have US babies
By AMY TAXIN

Federal agents enter an upscale apartment complex, Tuesday, March 3, 2015, in Irvine, Calif.... Read more

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) — Federal agents searched three dozen homes Tuesday in California during a crackdown on so-called maternity tourism operators who arrange for pregnant Chinese women to give birth in the U.S., where their babies automatically become American citizens.

The investigation of three alleged birth tourism rings may be the biggest yet by federal homeland security agents who say that, while pregnant women may travel to the United States and deliver their babies here, they cannot lie about the purpose of their trip when applying for a visa.

Authorities believe people from other countries are carrying out similar schemes but recent cases in California have catered to wealthy visitors from China, most likely due to the country's large population, recent economic boom and ties to the region. It is unclear how many women travel to the United States for maternity tourism.

"It is fertile ground for this kind of scheme," said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge for Immigration and Customs Enforcement's homeland security investigations in Los Angeles. "These people were told to lie, how to lie, so that their motives for coming to the U.S. wouldn't be questioned."

Shortly after sunrise, dozens of federal agents swarmed an upscale apartment complex in the Orange County city of Irvine, where authorities say a birth tourism business known as You Win USA Vacation Resort marketed to pregnant women who were then charged $50,000 for lodging, food and transportation.

Investigators said women were coached to lie about their travel plans when applying for tourist visas and wear loose clothing to hide their pregnancies, and they were promised Social Security numbers and U.S. passports for their babies before returning to China.

In one instance, a trainer in China helped fabricate employment and income information for an undercover federal agent posing as a pregnant client to secure a tourist visa. The undercover agent was encouraged to fly through Hawaii, where customs officers were believed to be more lenient than in Los Angeles, according to a copy of an affidavit in support of a search warrant.

The business netted its owners hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past two years and helped Chinese tourists deliver more than 400 American babies at just one Orange County hospital, the court papers said.

No arrests were made or charges filed. Investigators obtained warrants for the searches in Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties hoping to collect evidence of suspected crimes, including visa and tax fraud, immigration officials said.

Authorities did not release details of their findings or say how many women they found. Whether the women will stay here to give birth will be handled on an individual basis; authorities say some may need to remain as material witnesses.

The key draw for travelers is that the United States offers birthright citizenship. Maternity tourists believe citizenship will help their children secure a top-notch U.S. college education and provide a sort of insurance policy should economic conditions crumble in their home country — especially since the tourists themselves can apply for a green card once their American child turns 21.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection warns on its website that officers at airports and on the border will consider a pregnant woman's due date, travel plans and medical insurance to determine whether she can enter the country.

In Irvine, neighbor Linda Trust said she saw small groups of pregnant Chinese women together at the complex, and people bringing in platters of food and cases of diapers.

"I don't think it's right," she said, adding that she had never seen any of the babies.

Dr. Jin-Jou Lu, who also lives in the complex, said he wasn't surprised to learn of the scheme.

"Come on, people go across the border to have a baby from Mexico all the time, so what's the problem?" he told reporters.

Federal agents started investigating the business in Irvine after an anonymous tip last year. During the investigation, they tracked the movements of a couple who arrived in February 2014, had their baby in April and returned in May. While the couple's bank account recorded charges at luxury stores including Louis Vuitton and Rolex, they paid $4,080 — less than 15 percent of the billed amount — to an Orange County hospital for medical services after stating the mother was not employed, the affidavit said.

Efforts to interview the purported operators of the Irvine business were not immediately successful.

In 2013, Los Angeles County cited more than a dozen maternity hotels for code violations after an uproar in a nearby suburban community about a hotel operating in a residential neighborhood.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-03-04

[ggt]

Heck...there are plenty of men who would not have charged the Chinese women to assist them to have US babies...

[Daniel Ingalls]

Your not a very good reader in the story. They..... the pregnant woman are Chinese 8.5 months pregnant by their boy friends/husbands fly into the USA and drop their load on US soil, claiming US citizenship for their child..... Wake up!!

[BKKSnowBird]

Don't these new US citizens become liable for US taxes and asset reporting even if they don't live here?

That is a burden not to be taken lightly.

[IAMHERE]

It is time to change the constitution.

[zydeco]

Lu is right. The Mexicans do this all the time. And there were feature stories about Indians doing the same thing a few years ago. The US government will do nothing to protect America's borders or assure the integrity of citizenship. Elect Clinton or elect Jeb Bush. It doesn't matter. To each of them, US citizenship should be dispensed with all the restrictions of a prize in a box of Cracker Jacks.

[BKKSnowBird]

The reason Mexicans want in is much different than the Chinese. Not saying it is right just the motives are not the same.

[zydeco]

The reason Mexicans want in is much different than the Chinese. Not saying it is right just the motives are not the same.

The Chinese, says the article, want in to get places for their children at US universities.

The Mexicans, I know, want to get in to get their hands on free stuff; and are prone to drop out of high school.

If I had to choose, I'd take the Chinese.

[humqdpf]

This is an example of a law enforcement service in search of a crime.

It is perfectly logical for families to have a second nationality for their kids just in case things go wrong in their home country or if they want to avail of US university education (which they will have to pay for).

Given that it is well known that residency and ultimately citizenship in the USA can be bought (you just have to invest a million or more in the USA, as i understand it), I cannot see what these people are doing is wrong. After all, they leave the country before their visa expires.

[Time Traveller]

The reason Mexicans want in is much different than the Chinese. Not saying it is right just the motives are not the same.

The Chinese, says the article, want in to get places for their children at US universities.

The Mexicans, I know, want to get in to get their hands on free stuff; and are prone to drop out of high school.

If I had to choose, I'd take the Chinese.

Read the article again. It says the Chinese couple who were investigated got an 85% discount on birth costs due to them claiming they were unemployed. Despite being rich enough to fly to American and go shopping in luxury goods stores. Who do you think is going to subsidize their discount? Other Americans and foreigners paying full prices for medical treatment

And if I had to choose, it wouldn't be Chinese....Even the Chinese don't want to be chinese !

Edited March 4, 2015 by Time Traveller

[Time Traveller]

This is an example of a law enforcement service in search of a crime.

It is perfectly logical for families to have a second nationality for their kids just in case things go wrong in their home country or if they want to avail of US university education (which they will have to pay for).

Given that it is well known that residency and ultimately citizenship in the USA can be bought (you just have to invest a million or more in the USA, as i understand it), I cannot see what these people are doing is wrong. After all, they leave the country before their visa expires.

Actually the PRC does not recognize dual citizenship. So these children will either be Chinese or American when they grow up, but they can't be both.

[Scott]

The child can have dual nationality. Even if the PRC doesn't recognize their American citizenship, the US does. Currently there isn't a good method of tracking dual nationals because the PRC may not know whether the person has a US passport or not.

And for the super-rich there is the ultimate tax situation because they may be required to pay taxes if they earn a lot of money.

[zydeco]

The reason Mexicans want in is much different than the Chinese. Not saying it is right just the motives are not the same.

The Chinese, says the article, want in to get places for their children at US universities.

The Mexicans, I know, want to get in to get their hands on free stuff; and are prone to drop out of high school.

If I had to choose, I'd take the Chinese.

Read the article again. It says the Chinese couple who were investigated got an 85% discount on birth costs due to them claiming they were unemployed. Despite being rich enough to fly to American and go shopping in luxury goods stores. Who do you think is going to subsidize their discount? Other Americans and foreigners paying full prices for medical treatment

And if I had to choose, it wouldn't be Chinese....Even the Chinese don't want to be chinese !

Well, that is standard. On the border in Texas Immigration often clears an emergency path so Mexicans can come across, go to an American hospital, and get delivery services for free. You don't need to be "unemployed" as long as it is an emergency. The US is a joke on this issue. But, again, if I had to choose, I'd take the Chinese over the Mexicans.

[ChiangraiTony]

I just can't believe this is now making the news as if this is something new. I personally know of this going on in the USA for at least 25 years. Think of how many have already done this and have been born as a US citizen. Talk about slow reporting, this is absolutely mind boggling.