Attorney General Paxton filed a lawsuit against a Houston-area “birth tourism” operation known as De’Ai Postpartum Care Center (“Center”) for unlawfully facilitating the invasion of Chinese nationals into Texas for the sole purpose of birthing children and obtaining “birthright citizenship” in a manner that violates Texas law, including the Texas Penal Code.
“America is for Americans, not foreigners trying to cheat the system to claim citizenship,” said Attorney General Paxton. "The Center’s scheme not only facilitated an invasion of Texas, but it also involved shielding and facilitating violations of immigration law. Birthright citizenship is a scam that threatens national security, and I will do everything in my power to stop unlawful ‘birth tourism’ schemes like this one.” He said.
For nearly two decades, the Center has operated an unlawful “birth tourism” business with over “1,000+ American-born babies,” The Center brags. In addition, marketed birth-related services were offered primarily to Chinese clients through popular Chinese social media platforms and websites. The company also coaches’ clients on how to navigate immigration procedures and evade immigration laws when seeking visas and citizenship for themselves and their child.
Just last week, the Center noted that the federal government is “strictly” policing birth tourism and recommended that women apply for visas “before pregnancy” to avoid detection.
Investigations revealed the Center operates across at least four properties and typically hosts multiple families at each property at one time, facilitating up to twenty births per day. The locations of this Houston area businesses are in the city, Sugarland, and in Richmond, and Rosenberg.
Paxton is seeking injunctive relief to shut down the operation, adding civil penalties, and attorneys’ fees aiming to hold the defendants accountable for deceptive trade practices, tampering with governmental records, unlawful harboring and concealment, and other violations of Texas law.