DOJ Increases Focus on Birth Tourism Schemes

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is urging federal prosecutors nationwide to intensify their investigations and prosecutions of birth tourism operations, which allegedly take advantage of the U.S. immigration system and frequently involve visa fraud among other federal offenses.

In a memo released on Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Colin McDonald called for federal prosecutors to collaborate with the Department of Homeland Security to prioritize such cases. Officials have claimed that some foreign nationals provide false information on visa applications and mislead border officials about their travel intentions, aiming to give birth in the U.S. to secure automatic citizenship for their children.

However, the scope of investigations has expanded beyond just visa fraud. McDonald has instructed that these networks should be pursued with more serious charges if there is evidence of money laundering, identity theft, wire fraud, or health care fraud.

The memo highlights several recent indictments. Two years ago, Michael Wei Yue Liu and Jin Dong received sentences of 41 months in prison for operating a California-based firm called USA Happy Baby Inc., which assisted Chinese clients in obtaining fraudulent visas, concealing pregnancies from border agents, and establishing residency in the U.S.

Additionally, the directive mentions a case from New York in 2022. Ibrahim Aksakar was sentenced to 27 months in prison for managing a birth tourism network aimed at Turkish-speaking clients. Prosecutors alleged that his setup provided pregnant women with a script on how to avoid detection by immigration officials.

Alongside his prison time, Aksakar was required to forfeit around $400,000 and pay over $1 million in restitution. The memo also references a 2020 incident involving Chao “Edwin” Chen, who was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for operating a large-scale birth tourism business known as “You Win USA.”

The Justice Department indicated that Chen charged clients between $40,000 and $80,000, instructing them on how to lie to U.S. authorities about the purpose of their trips.

McDonald emphasized that the DOJ will remain vigilant in pursuing not only those who partake in these schemes but also those who orchestrate and profit from them. The U.S. Attorney’s Office intends to offer additional guidance and resources to aid prosecutors in addressing birth tourism cases.