How the CCP Exploits US Birthright Citizenship
Udumbara
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Commentary
President Donald Trump’s challenge to birthright citizenship is now before the Supreme Court, as growing evidence shows Chinese nationals using surrogacy and birth tourism to secure U.S. citizenship for their children and potentially create long-term national security risks.
On April 1, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Trump v. Barbara, a case challenging Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship, with a ruling expected by late June or early July. The case centers on Executive Order 14160, which Trump signed on Jan. 20, 2025, to restrict automatic birthright citizenship. Although federal courts have temporarily blocked enforcement of the order, the Supreme Court has allowed Section 3(b) to proceed, directing federal agencies to prepare guidance for implementing the policy if the order ultimately takes effect.
Under the proposed policy, children born in the United States would not automatically receive citizenship if their mother was in the country illegally or only temporarily, unless the father was a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or lawful permanent resident. Passport applicants would also be required to provide documentation proving the citizenship or immigration status of their parents as part of determining whether the child qualifies for citizenship.
Ironically, the Trump administration’s legal argument before the Supreme Court hinges on the 1898 case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which established birthright citizenship for a child born in the United States to Chinese parents. The landmark ruling, originally intended to protect an oppressed minority and secure citizenship rights for Chinese-Americans, has become the legal foundation critics say is now being exploited by CCP-era Chinese elites to produce American passport holders on a large scale.
That legal precedent has also taken on new relevance in the context of U.S. national security concerns regarding the CCP, because of two workarounds used by Chinese nationals to bypass U.S. immigration rules and ensure their children are born as U.S. citizens.
The first is surrogacy, which is illegal in China, driving wealthy clients to California, where gestational surrogacy is legal, enforceable, and compensated under state family law. Courts issue pre-birth parentage orders regardless of the intended parents’ nationality, and no U.S. residency is required. Costs range from $150,000 to $250,000. In some cases, parents ship genetic material to U.S. clinics without entering the country.
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The second workaround is birth tourism, in which a pregnant Chinese national enters on a tourist visa, delivers in an American hospital, and returns to China with a U.S.-citizen child. Packages cost $15,000 to $100,000 and include lodging in Chinese-run maternity hotels, visa coaching, and assistance obtaining the child’s U.S. passport and Social Security number. Both practices rely on the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil.
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The scale is significant. A 2024 study published in Fertility and Sterility found that Chinese nationals accounted for 41.7 percent of all international commercial surrogacy contracts in the United States, with 75 percent of those occurring in California. Estimates suggest that roughly one million Chinese babies have been born in the United States over the past 13 years and are being raised in China. Reports indicate that more than 107 Chinese-owned surrogacy agencies operate in Southern California, some allegedly affiliated with Chinese state-owned entities.
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Once a child turns 21, the parents can apply for green cards, a pathway some agencies have marketed as a cheaper alternative to the EB-5 investor visa. On Feb. 26, Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) formally asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to open a Department of Justice investigation into Chinese-owned surrogacy centers and their attempts to exploit U.S. immigration law loopholes. The senators expressed concern that what began as a private fertility industry now involves foreign-controlled networks operating on a large scale inside the United States.
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The national security implications are significant. Critics warn that these centers, many located in Southern California, could enable long-term influence operations if CCP-affiliated elites use birthright citizenship to create future U.S. citizens who could later obtain sensitive positions or political leverage. Cotton and Scott warned that children born through these arrangements could eventually vote in American elections, access sensitive positions, or otherwise advance Beijing’s interests.
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The issue has also been highlighted by Peter Schweizer in his January book “The Invisible Coup.” Schweizer argues that China has developed an “industrial model” to exploit U.S. birthright citizenship. He reports that overseas IVF and fertility services, including those in the United States, have been promoted in China under the Belt and Road Initiative, including a 2019 expo that matched Chinese patients with foreign providers.
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Former USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez echoed similar concerns in a February 2026 Washington Times op-ed, warning that the CCP is willing to “play the long game” and wait decades before returning these Chinese-indoctrinated U.S.-born citizens to the United States as adults.
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Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
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