The $80,000 Loophole Nobody’s Closing
Here’s something that should make your blood boil.
A Chinese national named Dongyuan Li ran a business out of Irvine, California called “You Win USA Vacation Services.”
She charged pregnant clients between $40,000 and $80,000 each, used 20 apartments as birthing houses, and received $3 million in international wire transfers from China in just two years.
She coached her customers on how to hide their pregnancies from U.S. Customs agents.
She even had clients book two separate flights – first to Hawaii, then to L.A. – because they thought it’d be easier to slip through.
The goal? Get a U.S. birth certificate. Get a U.S. passport. Call that child an American.
She eventually pleaded guilty to immigration fraud and visa fraud. But the babies she helped deliver? They’re still U.S. citizens.
That’s the birth tourism racket. And it’s been going on for years.
🚨 WATCH: 2013 NBC Report exposed China’s “birth tourism” scam
Chinese women fly to the US to give birth, securing American citizenship for their kids.
Then return home to raise these “Americans” with Chinese values & loyalty
SCOTUS must end this Birthright Citizenship Scam pic.twitter.com/UkJ3zXQkOK
— Alec Lace (@AlecLace) April 4, 2026
A Senate report found birth tourists sometimes stick American hospitals – and taxpayers – with unpaid medical bills, in some cases leaving states to cover the difference.
Senate investigators found numerous cases where adjustments exceeded $25,000, with states left holding the bag.
In Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands – a U.S. territory – more than 70% of newborns have birth tourist parents from China who take advantage of a 45-day visa-free entry rule.
GOP lawmakers including Reps. Chip Roy and Tom Tiffany have raised alarms about the national security implications, pointing to reports that between 750,000 and 1.5 million Chinese nationals may have obtained U.S. citizenship through birth tourism over the years.
Why SCOTUS Isn’t the Answer
Now the Supreme Court is weighing in.
The justices heard oral arguments this week in Trump v. Barbara, the case over President Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship.
Legal scholar Jonathan Turley says the conservative justices are likely to rule against the administration.
Why?
More than a century of legal precedent makes it really hard to reinterpret the 14th Amendment from the bench.
And here’s the thing – even if SCOTUS rules for Trump, an executive order can be undone by the next president. Courts go back and forth. Elections change things.
If we really want to fix this, we need a 28th Amendment.
The 28th Amendment
The good news is the fix is simple. One clear rule: if you’re born on American soil, you’re an American citizen as long as at least one of your parents is also an American citizen.
That’s it.
Germany and the United Kingdom already do something like this – automatically granting citizenship to children born there only if at least one parent is a citizen or permanent resident.
Ireland used to have full birthright citizenship too.
In 2004, Irish voters amended their constitution to restrict citizenship by birth to those with at least one parent who is a citizen.
They saw the abuse. They fixed it. We can too.
Critics say birth tourism is a small problem. They cite CDC numbers showing only about 9,500 births a year to parents with a non-U.S. home address.
But the Center for Immigration Studies estimates up to 70,000 births annually to temporary visitors.
Even at the low end, we’re talking about thousands of people gaming the system on purpose.
And here’s the bigger picture.
Citizenship should mean something. It should reflect a real, lasting tie to this country. A plane ticket and a maternity suite in Irvine shouldn’t be all it takes.
Solicitor General John Sauer put it well at oral arguments this week. He said America’s near-unconditional birthright citizenship policy has…
“spawned a sprawling industry of birth tourism, as uncounted thousands of foreigners from potentially hostile nations have flocked to give birth in the United States in recent decades, creating a whole generation of American citizens abroad with no meaningful ties to the United States.”
That’s not a fringe concern. That’s a real problem.
We don’t need to take citizenship away from anyone who already has it. We’re not talking about rounding anyone up.
We’re talking about a clear rule going forward: at least one parent has to be an American.
The Supreme Court may not be able to get us there. But the American people can.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Citizenship Report. Digital technology was used in the research, writing, and production of this article. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
