Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,
Federal prosecutors on June 30 were directed to prioritize investigations into "birth tourism" schemes after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship for children born to illegal immigrants.
Migrants, including a pregnant Haitian woman seeking to give birth in the United States, are apprehended by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Yuma, Ariz., on Dec. 7, 2021. John Moore/Getty ImagesColin McDonald, the Justice Department's assistant attorney general for fraud, said in a memo to department employees that the U.S. immigration system is being exploited by foreign nationals who travel to the country "under false pretenses" to give birth and secure U.S. citizenship for their children.
He instructed all U.S. attorneys and the Criminal Division to work with the Department of Homeland Security to investigate and prosecute those involved in such schemes.
"The Department of Justice will investigate and hold accountable those who engage in this unlawful conduct, as well as those who solicit and sell these criminal services to others," McDonald said.
The memo cites some cases related to birth tourism schemes, including one from 2024 that involved a couple who allegedly helped Chinese nationals to give birth in the United States in exchange for money.
The couple,
