NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill said a Local 10 News investigation was “the original source” behind an ongoing federal probe into a business suspected of “birth tourism” in South Florida.
The Republican from Texas, who introduced legislation to restrict birthright citizenship, serves on the House committees on the Judiciary, Oversight and Government Reform, and the Budget.
“The goal is to make a criminal referral to the Department of Justice,” Gill said about a House committee’s ongoing investigation.
Local 10 News first reported on a concierge service by Dr. Wladimir Lorentz, the pediatrician behind Have My Baby in Miami, in October.
“You cannot come into the United States and get an immigration Visa for the sole purpose of giving birth,” Gill said.
The North Miami Beach-based company’s advertising promises to “love helping you be a mom in the United States.”
Under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, babies born in the U.S. are automatically granted birthright citizenship, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
Congressional investigators recently sent a letter to Lorentz warning that “willfully misrepresenting one’s intentions to enter the country on a temporary visitor visa is a violation of current law and considered visa fraud.” Gill is familiar with the evidence.
“I think the evidence, at least to me, seems quite clear that if you’re advertising birth services in foreign countries, trying to compel people or trying to encourage people to come into the United States in order to give birth,” Lorentz said. “You’re doing something that you shouldn’t be doing.”
The U.S. State Department has warned that traveling to the U.S. with the primary purpose of giving birth to obtain citizenship is an impermissible use of a B-2 tourist visa.
“I would say 20,000 to 26,000 births every year in the United States is not an insignificant number … 20,000 to 26,000 are going to be given American citizenship and be able to vote and influence elections in the United States and have all of the privileges that come with American citizenship,” Gill said.
There aren’t specific regulations prohibiting pregnant foreign nationals from entering the U.S., but U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers can deny pregnant women entry.
CBP officers may inquire about “sufficient medical insurance to cover any medical necessities while” in the U.S., and evidence of intent to return home, which may include “a return ticket, job letter, or property deeds.”
CBP officers may also ask for “medical evidence” such as a doctor’s note with the due date, fitness for air travel, and evidence that “care is not the primary trip goal.”
The U.S. Department of Justice has prosecuted commercial “birth tourism networks.”
Related document: Minority staff report on birth tourism
Some U.S. airlines require pregnant women to provide a doctor’s medical clearance note. American Airlines and JetBlue require it for pregnant women traveling within four weeks of their due date.
Delta Air Lines doesn’t require it, but recommends checking with a doctor if traveling past 32 weeks. United Airlines requires a medical certificate past 36 weeks and suggests a doctor’s note dated within 72 hours of departure.
Lorentz couldn’t be reached for comment.
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