Birth tourism: An Irvine
company makes $2 million in
2013 enticing foreign women to
give birth to hundreds of babies
in O.C., feds say
What is birth tourism?
The practice of encouraging women to enter the United States to give birth, enabling their children to be U.S. citizens. One group estimates as many as 40,000 infants annually are born this way.
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IRVINE – Federal agents on Tuesday raided at least 20 residences in Southern California, including an apartment complex near John Wayne Airport, in an attempt to crack down on the growing practice of maternity tourism.
Federal and local law enforcement officials served search warrants and seized computers and documents at homes across Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. They also interviewed pregnant women who investigators say paid tens of thousands of dollars to companies that seek mostly Chinese clients, touting American citizenship, free education and other perks for their U.S.-born babies.
As part of the package, women were promised they would receive Social Security numbers and U.S. passports for their infants, which mothers would take with them when they left the U.S. After the U.S.-born children reach adulthood, they can then apply for visas for family members living abroad.
The operators advertised their services in China, charging fees ranging from $15,000 to $50,000. The more the client paid, the more perks the women got, including trips to Disneyland, shopping malls and outings to a firing range.
Authorities estimate a couple who ran You Win USA Vacation Resort in Irvine made $2 million in 2013 and helped women give birth to 400 children in Orange County, according to affidavits released Tuesday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It is not illegal for foreign nationals to give birth in the United States.
But authorities say operators instructed their clients to deceive the federal government on visa applications and make false claims of indigence to get lower fees for health services.
In some cases, according to the affidavits, the women were even told what to wear to hide their pregnancies at airports to avoid questions about the purpose of their visits.
Authorities are trying to build criminal cases against three companies, You Win USA Vacation Resort, USA Happy Baby Inc. and Star Baby Care.
They’re looking for evidence of visa and tax fraud, money laundering and conspiracy, according to the affidavits.
No arrests were made. The operators who run You Win USA Vacation Resort, Chao Chen, Jie Zhu and Dong Li, could not be reached for comment, and the company’s website was down late Tuesday.
In Irvine, federal agents arrived around 7 a.m. to present search warrants at The Carlyle at Colton Plaza, an apartment complex billed by its owners as “sumptuous.”
Neighbors said the women, who stayed at a dozen apartments in the complex, appeared to be well-treated, and were often chauffered to medical appointments and other outings.
“I saw the big, white van taking them shopping,” said a Carlyle resident. “They come back with bags from Gucci, Prada.”
The women also seemed to have cooks who catered their meals after preparing them in one or two of the apartments.
“They wear chef’s outfits, and they transport their food in carts down the hallway,” the resident said.
In addition to The Carlyle, agents searched an apartment and two homes in Irvine, an apartment in Mission Viejo and multiple dwellings in Rancho Cucamonga, Rowland Heights and Walnut.
Women interviewed Tuesday are cooperating with authorities, and some of them may become material witnesses against the three Chinese companies that brought them here, said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge with the Homeland Security Investigations.
The crackdown launched Tuesday is the latest step in a long-running investigation that started with a pair of anonymous tips and included undercover agents.
The documents say Irvine police contacted Homeland Security in June 2014 after receiving an anonymous letter detailing the business practices alleged at You Win USA, run by Chen and Li.
Earlier, a separate letter with similar information was sent to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Early in the investigation, an agent who is fluent in the Chinese dialects of Mandarin and Cantonese placed a phone call to the man operating You Win USA Vacation Resort, later identified as Chen.
The agent asked to visit The Carlyle at Colton Plaza to view an apartment where a family member from China might stay before giving birth in the U.S., according to the affidavit.
Equipped with an audio- and video-recording device, the agent toured the apartment and gathered more information about the business.
Chen is alleged to have told the agent that up to two women are housed in a single room, adding that he has a system to help clients prepare for visa interviews to avoid detection by officials, the affidavit states.
Later in 2014, undercover agents had additional conversations with Chen, and Homeland Security Investigations conducted surveillance at The Carlyle at Colton Plaza, according to one affidavit.
“Homeland Security Investigations ... observed numerous Asian pregnant women being picked up and dropped off,” one affidavit reads.
Meanwhile, authorities began looking into reports about similar cases in San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties.
The practice, known as birth tourism, is not restricted to China.
The Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based group that supports lower levels of immigration, estimates there are roughly 40,000 birth tourists each year from China, Nigeria, Turkey and other countries.
“I think what irks Americans about this situation is that birth tourists are effectively taking control over U.S. immigration and citizenship policy by turning a grant of temporary admission into a permanent stay,” said Jon Feere, legal policy analyst for the center.
Federal and local law enforcement officials served search warrants and seized computers and documents at homes across Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. They also interviewed pregnant women who investigators say paid tens of thousands of dollars to companies that seek mostly Chinese clients, touting American citizenship, free education and other perks for their U.S.-born babies.
As part of the package, women were promised they would receive Social Security numbers and U.S. passports for their infants, which mothers would take with them when they left the U.S. After the U.S.-born children reach adulthood, they can then apply for visas for family members living abroad.
The operators advertised their services in China, charging fees ranging from $15,000 to $50,000. The more the client paid, the more perks the women got, including trips to Disneyland, shopping malls and outings to a firing range.
Authorities estimate a couple who ran You Win USA Vacation Resort in Irvine made $2 million in 2013 and helped women give birth to 400 children in Orange County, according to affidavits released Tuesday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It is not illegal for foreign nationals to give birth in the United States.
But authorities say operators instructed their clients to deceive the federal government on visa applications and make false claims of indigence to get lower fees for health services.
In some cases, according to the affidavits, the women were even told what to wear to hide their pregnancies at airports to avoid questions about the purpose of their visits.
Authorities are trying to build criminal cases against three companies, You Win USA Vacation Resort, USA Happy Baby Inc. and Star Baby Care.
They’re looking for evidence of visa and tax fraud, money laundering and conspiracy, according to the affidavits.
No arrests were made. The operators who run You Win USA Vacation Resort, Chao Chen, Jie Zhu and Dong Li, could not be reached for comment, and the company’s website was down late Tuesday.
In Irvine, federal agents arrived around 7 a.m. to present search warrants at The Carlyle at Colton Plaza, an apartment complex billed by its owners as “sumptuous.”
Neighbors said the women, who stayed at a dozen apartments in the complex, appeared to be well-treated, and were often chauffered to medical appointments and other outings.
“I saw the big, white van taking them shopping,” said a Carlyle resident. “They come back with bags from Gucci, Prada.”
The women also seemed to have cooks who catered their meals after preparing them in one or two of the apartments.
“They wear chef’s outfits, and they transport their food in carts down the hallway,” the resident said.
In addition to The Carlyle, agents searched an apartment and two homes in Irvine, an apartment in Mission Viejo and multiple dwellings in Rancho Cucamonga, Rowland Heights and Walnut.
Women interviewed Tuesday are cooperating with authorities, and some of them may become material witnesses against the three Chinese companies that brought them here, said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge with the Homeland Security Investigations.
The crackdown launched Tuesday is the latest step in a long-running investigation that started with a pair of anonymous tips and included undercover agents.
The documents say Irvine police contacted Homeland Security in June 2014 after receiving an anonymous letter detailing the business practices alleged at You Win USA, run by Chen and Li.
Earlier, a separate letter with similar information was sent to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Early in the investigation, an agent who is fluent in the Chinese dialects of Mandarin and Cantonese placed a phone call to the man operating You Win USA Vacation Resort, later identified as Chen.
The agent asked to visit The Carlyle at Colton Plaza to view an apartment where a family member from China might stay before giving birth in the U.S., according to the affidavit.
Equipped with an audio- and video-recording device, the agent toured the apartment and gathered more information about the business.
Chen is alleged to have told the agent that up to two women are housed in a single room, adding that he has a system to help clients prepare for visa interviews to avoid detection by officials, the affidavit states.
Later in 2014, undercover agents had additional conversations with Chen, and Homeland Security Investigations conducted surveillance at The Carlyle at Colton Plaza, according to one affidavit.
“Homeland Security Investigations ... observed numerous Asian pregnant women being picked up and dropped off,” one affidavit reads.
Meanwhile, authorities began looking into reports about similar cases in San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties.
The practice, known as birth tourism, is not restricted to China.
The Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based group that supports lower levels of immigration, estimates there are roughly 40,000 birth tourists each year from China, Nigeria, Turkey and other countries.
“I think what irks Americans about this situation is that birth tourists are effectively taking control over U.S. immigration and citizenship policy by turning a grant of temporary admission into a permanent stay,” said Jon Feere, legal policy analyst for the center.
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