Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Wednesday (April 29th) that he has filed a lawsuit against a “birth tourism” center in Houston, accusing them of illegally assisting Chinese citizens in entering Texas to give birth with the objective of securing American citizenship for their newborns.
Paxton stated in a press release that this action violates Texas laws, including the Texas Penal Code.
The defendants named in the lawsuit are De’Ai Postpartum Care Center, Lin Suling, and Lai Wan Lin-Chan.
“Paxton emphasized that the United States belongs to Americans, not to foreigners attempting to exploit loopholes to obtain citizenship,” he said. “The operations of this center not only encourage an ‘invasion’ of Texas but also involve harboring and aiding violations of immigration laws. ‘Birthright citizenship’ is a scheme that poses a threat to national security, and I will do everything in my power to stop such illegal ‘birth tourism’ programs.”
For nearly 20 years, the De’Ai Postpartum Care Center has allegedly been unlawfully conducting “birth tourism” operations. During this time, the center claims to have helped over 1,000 babies be born in the US. It mainly markets its birthing services to Chinese clients through popular social media platforms and websites in China. The center also guides clients on navigating US immigration procedures and evading immigration laws when applying for visas and seeking citizenship for themselves and their children.
The guidance provided by this center includes encouraging Chinese citizens to illegally enter or stay in the US while concealing that their primary purpose of visiting is for childbirth. Furthermore, the operators of the center were reportedly aware that US visas were not to be used for the purpose of “birth tourism.” In fact, just last week, the center mentioned that the federal government is cracking down “strictly” on “birth tourism” and advised women to apply for visas before getting pregnant to avoid detection.
Investigations revealed that the De’Ai Postpartum Care Center operates in at least four properties, often accommodating multiple families simultaneously at each location, facilitating as many as 20 births per day.
Attorney General Paxton is seeking an injunction to shut down the center’s operations and is demanding the defendants pay civil penalties and legal fees. The lawsuit aims to hold the defendants accountable for fraudulent trade practices, falsifying government records, illegal harboring and concealing, and other violations of Texas laws.