Investigation Into Foreign Surrogacy Centers Called For

Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) are urging a federal probe into surrogacy centers run by foreign nationals. This comes after troubling reports revealed that Chinese nationals are allegedly involved in a scheme to father numerous children born in the U.S.

This year, the issue gained significant media coverage. Reports highlighted that Guojun Xuan, an official of the Chinese Communist Party, and his partner, Sylvia Zhang, are suspected of utilizing California’s unregulated surrogacy industry. They are accused of having at least 26 children through Xuan’s sperm and anonymous egg donors.

Peter Schweitzer, a senior contributor at Breitbart News, discussed Xuan’s alleged operations. His work outlines how elites from China are leveraging the U.S. surrogacy industry to ensure their offspring obtain American citizenship.

In California alone, records indicate there are over 107 Chinese-owned businesses that focus on surrogacy, as revealed by Schweizer’s investigation.

In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Cotton and Scott referenced recent findings concerning these Chinese-run surrogacy agencies. They noted that these agencies primarily cater to affluent Chinese clients and some seem linked to Chinese state-owned enterprises.

The senators elaborated that Chinese clients pay upwards of $50,000 to American women to serve as surrogate mothers. This results in children being born on U.S. soil, granting them automatic citizenship. In many cases, these infants are then sent to China, where they grow up under the influence of the Chinese Communist Party.

Xuan and Chan set up their surrogacy agency, Mark Surrogacy, in their luxury home in Arcadia, attracting over 20 children through this arrangement. Some surrogate mothers claimed they were unaware that the couple was involved in creating multiple children.

One attorney, Pamela DeCamp, representing surrogate mother Melissa Epps, mentioned, “My client thought they had one child and were looking for a second. She would not have participated had she known they wanted so many children.”

The situation came to light in 2025 when a two-month-old baby in Xuan’s care was hospitalized due to a head injury. Investigators subsequently discovered more than 20 other children, ranging from infants to teenagers.

Reports suggest that at least five more children have been born through surrogacy since the arrest of Xuan and Chan. They are currently out on bond as an investigation for child abuse is underway.

The legal complications are ongoing. Some surrogate mothers are now seeking custody of their children after uncovering the couple’s alleged scheme. Meanwhile, Xuan and Chan are reportedly suing two potential surrogates from whom they have lost contact.

According to Schweitzer, Xuan has held a position as a deputy member of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region People’s Congress for many years. In the U.S., he also has senior roles in several organizations linked to the Chinese Communist Party and intelligence agencies.

There are also reports that Xuan has an obsession with having one of his children become the next U.S. president. Some of the children are named after notable American politicians, which has raised eyebrows among those close to the couple.

A recent report stated that Xuan even presented himself with false business cards, claiming connections to the Trump administration.

In the senators’ letter, they raised concerns about a Chinese billionaire who purportedly fathered over 100 U.S.-born children with the goal of securing a male heir with an American passport.

“These children could eventually vote in U.S. elections and hold sensitive positions, thereby promoting the interests of the Chinese government,” Cotton and Scott cautioned.

They further argued that this situation not only exploits U.S. immigration laws but also poses a long-term strategic threat from adversaries aiming to undermine the U.S.

Setting a March 13 deadline for the Department of Justice (DOJ), the senators requested answers to a series of questions, including whether the DOJ has identified any violations of federal law by these foreign surrogacy agencies.

Earlier this month, a sign truck was seen denouncing surrogacy fraud outside the Chinese-U.S. Embassy in Washington, D.C. One side of the truck displayed a poster referencing Schweitzer’s book while the other side featured slogans like “BIRTH TOURISM” and “One million people born on American soil and raised in Communist China can vote in American elections.”