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Chinese Baby Factories Exploit Birthright Citizenship
Even before taking office, Trump’s influence is being felt on birthright citizenship. ICE, taking advantage of Biden’s absence as a leader, saw a California man sentenced to over 3 years in prison for running a business called USA Happy Baby that helped pregnant Chinese women travel to the United States to deliver babies who would automatically get American citizenship.
USA Happy Baby helped several hundred women travel from China to give birth to American citizen babies. The “tourists” paid as much as $40,000 for services including apartment rentals during their stays in Southern California and worked with overseas entities that coached women on what to say during visa interviews and upon arriving in U.S. airports, advising them among other things to wear loose clothing to hide their pregnancies.
“For tens of thousands of dollars each, defendant helped his numerous customers deceive U.S. authorities and buy U.S. citizenship for their children,” federal prosecutors wrote in court papers. USA Happy Baby worked with a multi-million dollar adjacent business called You Win USA which further coached pregnant Chinese women on how to get into the United States. Another business, Star Baby Care, boasted of bringing over 8,000 Chinese women to the U.S. to give birth. The businesses operate openly, and advertise freely in Chinese-language media both here and abroad. It is big business. Yet many of the women, lacking U.S. health insurance, gave birth as public charges using public funds.
Such businesses have long operated in California, Florida, and other states and have catered to people not only from China, but also from Russia, Nigeria, Korea, and elsewhere. It isn’t illegal to visit the United States while pregnant, but lying to consular and immigration officials about the reason for travel is when the primary purpose is to give birth in the U.S. is. Birth travel is driven by birthright citizenship, and Donald Trump wants to do away with both of them.
“I see this as a grave national security concern and vulnerability,” said Mark Zito, assistant special agent-in-charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “Are some of them doing it for security because the United States is more stable? Absolutely. But will those governments take advantage of this? Yes, they will.”
So what is birthright citizenship? A child born in the United States (with limited exceptions) to a foreign citizen, legally or illegally present in the U.S., is by virtue of the 14th Amendment (the so-called Citizenship Clause) automatically and forever an American citizen. The child need only prove he was born in the U.S. At the age of 21 the child can begin filing green card paperwork for his extended family. The single American citizen in a family becomes the “anchor” through which all can eventually become legal permanent residents of the U.S. and soon after, citizens.
The 14th was adopted in 1868, in the aftermath of the Civil War as part of reconciling the status of millions of slaves brought to the United States. The Citizenship Clause specifically overruled the 1857 Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which had held that Americans descended from African slaves could not be citizens of the United States. The Amendment cleared up any ambiguities, stating “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”
The most significant test of the 14th Amendment came in 1898, via United States v. Wong Kim Ark. The Supreme Court upheld a child born in the United States automatically became a U.S. citizen. At issue were laws passed after the Wong child’s birth that excluded Chinese citizens from entering the U.S. The decision in Wong is understood to mean that the legal status of the mother, as well as any secondary immigration laws below the Constitution, have no bearing on the granting of citizenship.
Doing away with birthright citizenship is another of Trump’s proclaimed Day One initiatives. In a campaign post, Trump wrote “On Day One, President Trump will sign an Executive Order to stop federal agencies from granting automatic U.S. citizenship to the children of illegal aliens. It will explain the clear meaning of the 14th Amendment, that U.S. Citizenship extends only to those both born in and ‘subject to the jurisdiction’ of the United States.”
The Trump campaign also said it would order on Day One the Social Security Administration to refuse Social Security numbers to newborn children without proof of the parents’ immigration status. Trump will issue the same order to the State Department, which issues U.S. passports. This would not require any action from Congress and because it would not grant/take away citizenship per se, would not directly violate the 14th Amendment in Trump’s interpretation.
Currently, a U.S. birth certificate is all that is needed to obtain a Social Security number and passport in most cases. The State Department considers U.S.-born children of illegal aliens to be subject to U.S. jurisdiction, and thus to have citizenship at birth. The State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual takes the position Wong settled this issue. This means the Trump E.O. would likely be challenged immediately in lower courts and the case would be ripe for the Supreme Court to use to revisit Wong if they wished to. The Court could rule classes of foreigners on U.S. soil such as tourists (included already are children of foreign diplomats) are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and therefore their children, if born in this country, are not entitled to citizenship. The Court could also side with long precedent and refuse to even hear the case.
Another option for Trump would be to re-issue and this time enforce an Executive Order from Trump 1.0. Under this E.O., visitors can be denied temporary tourist visas if it’s found the “primary purpose” of their travel is to obtain citizenship for a child by giving birth in the United States. The rule does not currently apply to the 39 countries in the Visa Waiver Program, including Korea, and State in implementing the E.O. forbids its visa officers from even asking in most cases if an applicant is pregnant, making the order near-impossible to enforce. A revised E.O., which refines “tourism” to exclude planning to give birth in the U.S., extends the exclusion to the Visa Waiver Program, applies equally to ICE at the Ports of Entry, and prohibits the State Department from defanging the law in its implementing guidance, could go a long way toward at least slowing the flood of pregnant visitors to the U.S.
Trump could also order ICE to more aggressively pursue the baby facilitators now actively at work in the U.S., places like USA Happy Baby and You Win USA. ICE could productively look into how the organizations move money internationally, likely to find something akin to money laundering and tax evasion, even if the immigration laws themselves are too weak to hold up in court on a large scale.
What Trump cannot do is wipe away the 14th Amendment, and it is possible his other efforts to slow birth tourism will ultimately fail on this point. Then-House Speaker Paul Ryan in 2018 said “As a conservative, I’m a believer in following the plain text of the Constitution, and I think in this case the 14th Amendment is pretty clear, and that would involve a very, very lengthy constitutional process. But where we obviously totally agree with the president is getting at the root issue here, which is unchecked illegal immigration.”
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. The views expressed here are solely those of the author(s) in their private capacity.
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Rich Bauer said...
1Good thing these Chinese kids wont go to US universities cause…
Donald Trump while touting immigration crackdowns told a group of tech investors that he wanted to help foreign students stay in the US.
“What I want to do, and what I will do, is — you graduate from a college, I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country,” Trump said during a June interview with “The All-In Podcast.”
If the president-elect pursues this proposal after he takes office, and if Congress passes the legislation that would be required to enact it, the policy could pave the way for potentially millions of international students to become legal permanent residents.
Here’s a look at what Trump has said, how foreign students are feeling about it, how universities are responding, what critics are saying and how likely any of this is to happen.
More than 1.1 million international students were enrolled in US colleges and universities during the 2023-24 academic year, a record high, according to data released last month. Those students generally have nonimmigrant visas that give permission to study in the US, but don’t provide a legal pathway to stay in the country. So the change Trump promised in the podcast interview, if implemented, would be a major policy shift.
Of course, we all know Trump is full of shit and wont keep any of his promises.
01/8/25 11:20 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
2Will MAGA try to hang Vice Prez Donnie D?
Now that Vice Prezidunce DD has not done the right thing in selling out MAGA unemployed to greedy Prezidunce Musk on visas to evil Chinese H-1Bs, will MAGA try to hang VP DD like they tried to hang VP Pence for not doing the right thing? If it wasnt for the George Soros Deep State Secret Service to save that traitor on Jan. 6, justice would have been served that day. MAGA still has the gallows and not in a good humor that Vice Prez Dementia is not keeping his promises to reduce inflation. Mortgage rates are heading higher, so is the price of bacon.
MAGA dont like to be made to look like fools. Vivek tried and he is still in hiding.
01/9/25 3:00 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
3Chinese Baby Sleeper Cells a threat?
“I see this as a grave national security concern and vulnerability,” said Mark Zito, assistant special agent-in-charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
Well Mark, we really wont know if they are a threat for at least 20 years. We do know the greater threat today is idiots like Mark employed in the federal government.
01/10/25 11:36 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
4Throwing the Chinese anchor babies out, we really need to come clean. Native Americans are right to ask why we should stop with Chinese babies. Get rid of the white trash that Europe kicked out. Send Donnie D and his anchor idiots packing to Germany. And if we dont clean house, someday these Chinese will be the majority and God knows what amendments they will pass. They may pass one that allows a convicted felon to be prezidunce.
01/10/25 12:42 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
5MAGA SPACE LASERS STARTED THOSE CALIFORNIA FIRES?
Notice Crazy Marge has gotten awfully quiet about those Jewish Space Lasers since Prezidunce Musk took power. And why did Prezidunce Musk move out of California to Texas just before the Great California fire, hmmm? Interesting too Crazy Joe Rogan who moved out of California to Texas just in time too has not dared bring up the MAGA Space Lasers. Well, this is a case for Peter to get to the bottom of this grand Jewish conspiracy…if he really means well.
01/15/25 10:11 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
6No surprise that MAGA is oblivious to its own lineage to anchor babies, as the morons are oblivious to most everything. For example, the latest Pew Reseach poll of MAGA WORLD finds 100% are totally against socialism, yet 77% object to Trumpers touching their Social Security. Majority of MAGA say they are against Obamacare but for the Affordable Care Act.
The economy and immigration were top issues for Trump supporters. Just as it was in 2020, the economy was the most important issue for Trump voters this year. In a September survey, 93% said it was very important to their vote. Praising tariffs as “the greatest thing ever invented“ Trump could raise U.S. homebuilding costs as his proposed tariffs would likely increase prices for essential construction materials. This echoes the impacts on housing costs from his previous term through higher tariffs on Canadian lumber. Since 2020, tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber have persisted and even doubled. This has led to mill closures and job losses in Canada along with higher costs for U.S. builders. Trump’s current proposals include a 10% or 20% tariff on all imports across the board.
MAGA may not understand much, but when they see inflation – currently 3.4% – reignite and go through the roof, they may burn the White House down.
01/15/25 11:35 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
7Ohio Says No to a Brown Guy Senator…or Guvnor
Vivek Sosayme is learning a hard lesson in Ohio MAGA land: They let you play a good game but they wont let you in the Country Club. Vivek just got the MAGA white nationalist message. Mike DeWine has selected white guy Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to become the next senator from Ohio, passing over brown guy entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Even Donnie D couldnt get MAGA Ohio to accept a brown guy. Elon finds these MAGA racists so contemptable.
Husted had long planned to run for governor in 2026 to succeed DeWine. His ascent to the Senate will likely scramble the field in that race. Vivek interested in that one too.
Yeah, that aint happening either. This is Ohio.
01/17/25 1:47 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
8Vivek is not a Householder name like Husted. Crooks of a feather…
01/18/25 11:09 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
9Tik Tok, the Chinese Chicken is on the Clock
Strange that MAGA racists fear the threat of Chinese babies pose in 20 years, but it supports the Tik Tok Chinese SuperDuper Spy Op. Chinese Chicken Double Agent Donnie D tells his MAGGOTS there is nothing to fear, which is really f-ing Strange as that is his whole business/ political strategy.
Speaking of the Chinese Chicken’s failed promises, DD laid an egg on his promise to lower inflation. Foe X-ample, the price of eggs— average cost of a dozen Grade A large eggs was $4.15 in December, up from $3.65 in November, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. MAGA may swallow the Chinese Chicken lies about Tik Tok, but they are gonna have trouble swallowing the increase in eggs.
01/19/25 8:51 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
10MAGA GOT EGG ON ITS FACE
Donnie Dementia may want those MAGA MORONS to forget his broken promises about inflation, but he got egg on his face. Day One has turned into Day Seven, and those eggs are getting even more expensive.
Despite a flurry of executive actions, Trump’s price-related promises have gone unfulfilled, Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter addressed to the president.
“You have instead focused on mass deportations and pardoning January 6 attackers, including those who assaulted Capitol police officers,” according to the letter signed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and 20 congressional Democrats. “Your sole action on costs was an executive order that contained only the barest mention of food prices, and not a single specific policy to reduce them.”
In fact, the lawmakers added, Trump appears to be “backtracking” on those promises, conceding in recent weeks that it’s “hard to bring things down.”
On Sunday, Vice President JD Vance made a similar comment to CBS’s Margaret Brennan when asked about grocery prices.
“Prices are going to come down, but it’s going to take a little bit of time,” he said, adding that the way to lower prices is “to encourage more capital investment into our country.”
Trump’s frequent price-dropping pledges have long been countered by economists who have noted that broad-based price declines not only would be outright dangerous for an economy by creating a deflationary “doom loop,” but, also, that they’d be improbable to achieve.
Donnie DEMENTIA when pressed by his Fox bootlicker HANNITY on his broken promises to do something about food inflation finally told the truth: I DON’T CARE.
01/28/25 11:23 AM | Comment Link