(Flickr/Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals)
A California woman will serve roughly three years in prison for her role in leading an operation that coached pregnant Chinese women on how to deceive immigration officials and give birth in the United States.
A federal court in Los Angeles handed Phoebe Dong a 41-month prison sentence for operating a birth tourism scheme she managed alongside her husband in Southern California, according to The Associated Press. The sentencing comes as President Donald Trump is battling a coalition of Democratic states to restrict birthright citizenship from those born to illegal migrants or on temporary visas.
Dong and her husband, Michael Liu, were convicted in September, with a jury finding the pair both guilty of one count of conspiracy and 10 counts of money laundering. According to prosecutors, Dong charged clients tens of thousands of dollars for advice on how to enter the U.S., deceive immigration officials about the true intention of their visit and give birth on American soil — guaranteeing their child U.S. citizenship.
“For tens of thousands of dollars each, defendant helped her numerous customers deceive U.S. authorities and buy U.S. citizenship for their children,” prosecutors said in court filings, accord to the AP.
Dong operated a business called USA Happy Baby, which helped over 100 pregnant Chinese women travel to the U.S. between 2012 and 2015. The company would give clients advice on how to conduct visa interviews and encouraged them to wear loose-fitting clothing and not “waddle like a penguin” in order to be allowed into the country.
While it’s not against the law to visit the U.S. while pregnant, lying to immigration officials about the reason for traveling is not allowed. Federal law enforcement officials have uncovered numerous other birth tourism schemes in the U.S. over the years.
Trump is attempting to remove birthright citizenship from anyone born to parents living in the U.S. unlawfully or visiting on a temporary visa. If successful, the move would put an end to the birth tourism industry entirely.
However, a coalition of 22 state attorneys general immediately sued to block the executive order from going into effect, and the order has since been paused by U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour, a Reagan appointee. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt Tuesday reiterated the administration’s willingness to fight for the order all the way up to the Supreme Court if necessary.
“U.S. citizenship is the most valuable status in the entire world, because you get a passport, you get the protection of the United States government, and you get to vote,” Art Arthur, a resident fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “So when you expand the population of people who are here illegally, particularly couples, you get to a situation where this is an increasingly salient issue.”
As many as 250,000 babies were born to illegal migrant parents in 2023, according to a preliminary estimation by CIS. The group also estimates that roughly 33,000 babies are born annually to mothers on tourist visas.
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