Los Federales Crack Down On Chinese Birthing Houses

04 Mar, 2015 by William Teach

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There’s apparently one group of illegals the Obama administration doesn’t like

(Fox News) Airfare from the U.S. to China and a months-long stay in an Orange County, Calif., apartment: $80,000. A baby born a U.S. citizen: priceless.

In the largest operation of its kind, early Tuesday morning federal officials in Southern California served warrants at “Chinese birthing houses” or “maternity hotels,” where wealthy Chinese nationals paid up to $80,000 for the sole purpose of giving birth in the U.S. to obtain citizenship for their children, earning in-state tuition to U.S. universities for them and permanent U.S. residency for the parents.

“It is essentially citizenship for sale,” said Center for Immigration Studies analyst Jessica Vaughan. “Something U.S. citizens hold very dear and cherish is essentially being purchased by people for their own economic self-interests or potentially more nefarious purposes.”

Well, now, that’s rather interesting. It’s technically legal, though a rather shady way to do obtain citizenship for a child, which, of course, always leads the whining “don’t separate the child from the parents. And grandparents. And cousins. Aunts. Uncles. That weird kid who always stands in the back yard.”

During the search warrant, agents hope to obtain evidence of visa fraud, marriage fraud and tax evasion. Documents show Chen and Zhu claimed to have divorced in 2012, then entered into sham marriages in Las Vegas a few months later with U.S. citizens, allowing both to obtain lawful U.S. residency. Both then paid off their purported U.S. citizen spouses, in one case $10,000 in a series of 16 bank deposits.

Chen and his business associate, Dong Li, “earn hundreds of thousands of dollars in income from their visa fraud scheme,” according to court documents, yet Li filed no tax return and Chen filed a false return. Neither cited their foreign bank accounts as required by law. Chen drives a $200,000 Bentley, his wife a luxury BMW.

Investigators focused on three companies specializing in birth tourism fraud. In Orange County, the pregnant Chinese nationals tell hospital admission officials they’re indigent, sticking U.S. taxpayers with the cost of their babies, “which often exceed $25,000,” according to court records.

What Los Federales seemed to be focusing on was fraud and other charges to put a stop to this, rather than immigration violations. Yet, they seem rather blase when it comes to other illegal groups, particularly those from Mexico, Central America, and South America who cross the U.S. border illegally and then have their babies, sticking the U.S. taxpayers with the cost of their babies. And then sticking the U.S. taxpayers with so much more.

Do not misunderstand: I agree with this crackdown. There should be a crackdown on all who are gaming the system and coming illegally/overstaying visas. The Law should be applied equally and to all.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.