California Apartments Raided in Federal Investigation of Chinese ‘Birth Tourism’ - The New York Times

California Apartments Raided in Federal Investigation of Chinese ‘Birth Tourism’ - The New York Times: "Federal agents stormed 37 locations in Southern California early Tuesday, gathering evidence about what they say are three illegal “birth tourism” businesses for wealthy Chinese women.

According to affidavits unsealed Tuesday, the businesses arranged for pregnant women to come to the United States on tourist visas to give birth to babies. The children will be American citizens, entitled to birth certificates and passports — and, when they turn 21, able to help their parents become legal residents of the United States.

“This is still very much an ongoing investigation, coming after undercover activities that have lasted most of the last year,” said Virginia Kice, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman. “Today is just the execution of search warrants and evidence gathering. We are not anticipating any arrests right now.”

The affidavits, filed in support of search warrants, describe businesses that charge clients up to $60,000, with the size of the fee depending on housing arrangements, the number of Chinese-speaking nannies desired once the baby is born and other factors. The businesses arrange the women’s transportation, housing and prenatal care, and obtain birth certificates and passports for the babies before they leave the country.

The companies caution the women to wear loosefitting clothes, to lie to the American authorities about the intent of their trip and not to wait too far into their pregnancy before traveling. Most women arrive two to three months before their due date, many initially flying to a tourist destination like Hawaii or Las Vegas rather than the Los Angeles airport, where there is greater scrutiny. They usually stay for about a month after giving birth.

According to the affidavits, clients were told not to bring any maternity clothes and were given some coaching on how to answer immigration questions; one company, USA Happy Baby, promised a refund if a client was sent home at the airport.

While Mexicans, Koreans and families from other countries have also engaged in so-called birth tourism, in recent years it has been most often Chinese families who have been willing to pay large sums to have their children born in the United States. The births usually occur in Southern California, where, one of the affidavits said, Chinese women delivered more than 400 American babies at just one Orange County hospital.

The affidavits quote Chinese government sources as reporting that Chinese nationals had 10,000 babies in the United States in 2012, up from 4,200 in 2008.

One of the businesses said on its website, starbabycare.com, that since it began in 1999, it had served 8,000 pregnant women, 4,000 of them Chinese."



'via Blog this'