19 charged in Chinese ‘birth tourism’ scheme in California

NINETEEN people have been charged in three “birth tourism” schemes that operated in Southern California to bring pregnant Chinese women into the US in order to secure birthright citizenship for their children, federal prosecutors in Los Angeles said on Thursday.

The 17 cases unsealed are the first federal charges brought against operators and customers of birth tourism businesses, the Justice Department said. Three defendants were arrested on Thursday, while 16 others named in the indictments unsealed on Thursday are “fugitive defendants”, the prosecutors said.

The defendants are accused of links to three “birth houses” operating in Southern California that catered to wealthy women from China and were dismantled by federal agents in March 2015.

The indictments charge that Chinese customers were coached on how to pass US Consulate interviews in China by falsely stating they would stay in the US for only two weeks and to trick US Customs at entry ports by wearing loose clothing to conceal their pregnancies, prosecutors said.

“These cases allege a wide array of criminal schemes that sought to defeat our immigration laws – laws that welcome foreign visitors so long as they are truthful about their intentions when entering the country,” US Attorney Nick Hanna said.

The sweep was believed to mark the first such enforcement action against maternity tourism. |