Will U.S. Totally End Birth Tourism?

The topic of discussion for this week concerns birth tourism. Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell explains the latest action taken by the Trump administration. “Trump’s Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force has revoked more than 700 visas held by Chinese nationals since its launched in August. 

“The Chinese birth tourism industry should not be allowed to profit from the privileges of American citizenship while undermining the integrity of our immigration laws,” a State Department spokesperson told the Daily Signal. “President Trump and Secretary Rubio are putting American interests first, strengthening enforcement, and making clear that the United States will not tolerate the deliberate exploitation of its visa process.”

The State Department established a task force to identify instances of birth tourism, revoke visas of those who engage in or facilitate it, and dismantle the networks that profit from it.

The task force’s largest crackdown has been on Chinese nationals accused of exploiting the immigration system to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children, according to the spokesperson. “We will not allow foreign nationals or commercial networks from any country to abuse our visa process for financial gain,” the spokesperson said.

More than 107 Chinese-owned surrogacy agencies operate in Southern California alone. Chinese nationals often pay women living in the United States more than $50,000 to serve as surrogates. Conventional birth tourism results in an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 annual U.S. births to Chinese nationals, according to investigative journalist Peter Schweitzer’s Senate testimony.

Surrogacy cycles commissioned by foreign intended parents surged 78% from 2014 to 2019, from 2,758 to 4,905 embryo transfers a year. Chinese nationals were the largest customer base at 41.7%, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s journal.

            “American citizenship is not for sale and President Trump has been unequivocal that his                        Administration will protect the meaning and value of American citizenship,” Eddie Vasquez,                    deputy assistant secretary for press, said. “At the State Department will use all the available                    tools to dismantle birth tourism networks and defend the integrity of U.S. citizenship. We are                seeing that promise and our actions speak for themselves.