One of the lesser discussed ways that the birthright policy of America is abused is by pregnant women from mostly Asian countries that come here to birth children that gain automatic citizenship. The practice is known as “birth tourism.”
More from CBS San Francisco:
“I don’t have a comment, I don’t have a comment,” said Jerry Zhou. He runs a popular tourist agency. The destination, not Fisherman’s Wharf, or the Golden Gate Bridge, but a regular home on a residential street in North San Jose.
We’ve learned the home is actually a birthing hotel. It caters to pregnant women, mostly from China, who come to the U.S. to grab that prize: instant U.S. citizenship for their baby.
Neighbor Robert Ramos says the women keep a low profile, rarely walking the neighborhood, going in and out only in a van with tinted windows. But he says what’s going on inside is pretty obvious.
“At one time I think there were four — four of them at the same time,” he said. “It’s pretty predictable, you can see when somebody’s giving birth. You don’t see them afterwards, and then a new family comes in.”
The house is one of at least two locations run by Jerry Zhou, who advertises on the internet under the name California Baby Care. For $3,000 to $4,000 a month everything’s included: dedicated nannies, professional chefs, transport to- and from the hospital, and a passport for the newborn.
“There’s a business apparently established apparently to do this. I think it’s fraud,” said Ramos.
Homeland security cracked down on a similar operation in Southern California earlier this year.
ICE agents raided three addresses where they found dozens of women from China, either pregnant or who had just given birth.
The crackdown is prompting debate on Capitol Hill on whether to end birthright citizenship.
A new bill would allow it only for children of citizens or legal U.S. residents.
While ending birthright citizenship would certainly stop this practice, you would think that a competent government would be able to end it with simple law enforcement. But you’d be wrong. If you watch the above video until the end you’ll notice how the feds only look into the fraud after they’re contacted by local news. Awesome huh?
