US lawmakers start attacking birth tourists

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Thu, November 30, 2023 | 17:43

US lawmakers start attacking birth tourists

Posted : 2010-06-10 20:15

Updated : 2010-06-10 20:15

By Jane Han
Korea Times correspondent

NEW YORK ― Every year, thousands of pregnant Korean women arrive in the U.S. with a big, round belly and leave with a flat stomach, carrying in their arms a newborn baby with American citizenship.

Labeled "birth tourists," these moms consider the costly trips a privilege and money well spent. But for a growing number of Americans, they are ill-intended visits that take advantage of loopholes in the U.S. immigration system.

And now, with millions of foreign birth tourists coming from everywhere from Turkey to Taiwan with the same purpose, conservative lawmakers in the U.S. are pushing legislation that would stop automatically granting citizenship to every baby born on U.S. soil, as stated in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Republican Rep. Gary Miller has introduced a bill that would prevent children from becoming citizens at birth if they are born to illegal aliens, a move that many say challenges the fundamental tenet of the country's constitution.

His bill also specifically takes aim at birth tourists and the increasing numbers of businesses that help pregnant women give birth in the U.S.

Dozens of Korean businesses in major U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, New York and Seattle, are also prominent in this industry.

For anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000, they offer a comprehensive service that covers airfare, city tours, pre- and post-partum care - including customized meals three times a day and general maid services - and even English lessons for the new mom.

Packages offered by Turkish businesses are also known to be high-end.

For about $40,000, women can stay at a luxury hotel on New York's Upper East Side with all their needs taken care of.

"They sell packages for women to come to the U.S., have their baby and then give all the necessary paperwork, babysit the child for a week or two so they can go on vacation then pack them up and send them home with an American citizen," Miller said in a recent television interview.

He called for a national debate on the issue, stressing that "more and more Americans are looking at this whole issue and saying, 'This is wrong and has to be stopped."'

In fact, a recent poll by Rasmussen Reports showed that 58 percent of 1,000 likely U.S. voters said "no" to giving citizenships to children of illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, 33 percent still said a child born of a woman who enters the U.S. as an illegal alien and gives birth should automatically be a U.S. citizen.

According to the National Center of Health Statistics, the number of U.S. births to non-resident mothers increased 53 percent between 2000 and 2006.

Miller's bill is garnering support from select Republican lawmakers, but it drew immediate opposition from critics who say the move is threatening the nation's basic principles.

"The bill is unconstitutional," Democratic Rep. Joe Baca said in media interview. "If you were born in the United States, you're an American."

Other Democratic lawmakers and civic groups are ready to fight the case, while businesses are also voicing their opinions.

"We're not doing anything illegal," said a manager of one birth tourism package provider based in Los Angeles. "We're a registered business breaking no laws so we shouldn't be scrutinized."

미 입법자 출산 투어 제재 시작

매년 수 천 명의 한국 산모들이 태어날 아이에게 미국 시민권을 주기 위해 배가 불룩한 채로 미국에 입국해 배를 쏙 빼고 나온다.

이런 사람들을 ‘출산 투어리스트’ 라고 부른다. 이런 사람들은 돈이 아깝다 생각지 않고 미래를 위해 잘 투자했다는 생각을 가지고 있다.

하지만 미국인구가 증가하면서 터키에서 타이완까지 모든 나라에서 이런 원정 출산을 한다. 이에 미 정부는 14번째 미국 헌법 수정안에 따라 미국에서 태어나는 모든 아기에게 시민권을 주지 않기로 하였다.

공화당 대표 개리 밀러는 불법 이민자들이 미국에서 낳는 애기는 시민권을 주지 말자는 법안을 제출했다.

한국인 같은 경우 2만 달러에서 5만 달러 정도면 비행기 값, 각종 산모에 필요한 서비스를 미국에서 받을 수 있다.

조사에서는 1000명중 58%는 안된다고 답했고 33%는 괜찮다고 대답했다.
하지만 민주당은 개리 밀러가 낸 법안은 헌법에 위반된다고 했다.

jhan@koreatimes.co.kr