The Department of Justice is instructing federal prosecutors nationwide to intensify scrutiny of alleged birth tourism operations, saying the schemes abuse the U.S. immigration system and are frequently tied to visa fraud and other federal offenses.
In a memo circulated Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Colin McDonald told U.S. attorney’s offices to work closely with Homeland Security and treat these investigations as a higher priority. Federal officials contend that some foreign nationals conceal the true purpose of their travel, either by submitting false information on visa applications or misleading border officers, in order to give birth in the United States and obtain automatic U.S. citizenship for their children.
The push is not limited to visa violations. McDonald directed prosecutors to pursue broader criminal charges when supported by the evidence, including money laundering, identity theft, wire fraud and health care fraud.
The memo cites several recent cases as examples. Two years ago, Michael Wei Yueh Liu and Jing Dong were each sentenced to 41 months in prison for operating “USA Happy Baby Inc.,” a California-based business that helped Chinese customers obtain fraudulent visas, conceal pregnancies from border authorities and arrange U.S. lodging.
The directive also references a 2022 prosecution in New York involving Ibrahim Aksakal, who received a 27-month prison sentence for running a birth tourism network aimed at Turkish-speaking clients. Prosecutors said the operation provided pregnant women with scripted instructions on how to get past immigration screening.
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In addition to his prison term, Aksakal was ordered to forfeit nearly $400,000 and pay more than $1 million in restitution. The memo further points to a 2020 case against Chao “Edwin” Chen, who was sentenced to roughly three years in prison for operating a large birth tourism enterprise known as “You Win USA.”
The DOJ said Chen charged clients between $40,000 and $80,000 while coaching them to deceive U.S. officials about the real reason for their trips.
McDonald said the department will keep targeting both participants in birth tourism arrangements and the organizers who build and profit from them. The Executive Office for United States Attorneys is also expected to issue additional guidance and resources to help prosecutors recognize, investigate and bring these cases.
