A Chinese-American company in Southern California, which operated businesses assisting Chinese pregnant women to give birth in the United States, saw its owner couple convicted by a jury on Friday (September 13).
Prosecutors accused Michael Liu and Phoebe Dong of helping Chinese pregnant women hide their intention to give birth in the United States from the US immigration authorities in order for the babies born in the US to automatically obtain US citizenship.
The Los Angeles federal court ruled that the two individuals were guilty of one count of conspiracy and ten counts of money laundering. The prosecutors and the defense lawyers of the two defendants declined to comment in court.
The prosecutors alleged that the “USA Happy Baby” center operated by the couple helped hundreds of tourists come to the US for birth tourism from 2012 to 2015, charging them service fees as high as $40,000 and providing them with apartments in Los Angeles during their stay.
The prosecutors stated that the couple also collaborated with overseas entities to instruct Chinese pregnant women on how to answer immigration officers’ questions during visa interviews and upon arrival at US airports, advising them to wear loose clothing to conceal their pregnancy and warning them not to “waddle like penguins”.
Federal prosecutor Kevin Fu told the jury in his closing arguments that their business model relied on constantly “deceiving the US immigration authorities”.
During the trial, defense lawyers for the now-separated couple argued that the prosecutors failed to link their clients to the Chinese pregnant women, stating that their services were only provided after the women arrived in the US.
Kevin Cole, the lawyer for Michael Liu, argued that the government failed to eliminate reasonable doubt about the evidence in the case and failed to establish a connection between his client and the interactions with the pregnant Chinese tourists.
John McNicholas, Phoebe Dong’s lawyer, argued that birth tourism is not a crime. He said that these Chinese women traveled abroad with the assistance of other companies and claimed that Phoebe Dong helped them give birth in the US to avoid punishment under China’s one-child policy, so she should not be convicted.
The judge is set to announce the sentencing for Michael Liu and Phoebe Dong on December 9.
In 2015, federal authorities in the US raided several residences in Southern California to crack down on operators of “birth tourism”. These operators of maternity centers were subsequently prosecuted. The cases of Michael Liu and Phoebe Dong were filed in 2019.
US authorities stated that it is not illegal for foreign nationals to visit the US while pregnant, but it is not allowed to lie about the purpose of the trip on government documents to consular and immigration officials.
(Based on reports from The Associated Press)