Will Trump Stop Childbirth Touring?

Women from all over the world fly to the United States to have a baby in good conditions and give him American citizenship. Photo: depositphotos.com

After the election of Donald Trump as president of America, childbirth tourism may be threatened. During the election campaign, a businessman repeatedly stated that he wanted to repeal the 14 amendment to the Constitution, according to which all children born in the United States receive American citizenship. ForumDaily figured out whether our people would stop flying to give birth in America and what will happen to this business if Trump implements his statement.

America VS Russia

Irina from Moscow gave birth to her first child in Russia. She came to Miami in 2014 for her second birth. He plans to give birth to a third child in the USA in a year or two. She follows the statements of Trump, who wants to cancel the right of the soil. It is recognized: even if it can be done, it will still give birth in America.

“Russians who have money are not as mercantile as they are thought to be. First of all, people go to the USA to give birth because of the high quality of services and, secondly, because of citizenship. It’s simply nice when they smile at you and ask you 100 times a day if everything is okay. I gave birth to my first child in a good Moscow hospital, and I have something to compare with. In Moscow they were rude to me, refused to fulfill my requests, and did not allow my husband to see me, although we paid 60 thousand rubles (about $940) for the contract. No matter what Trump does, I will earn money and come to the USA to give birth for the third time,” the woman says emotionally.

In American clinics offer excellent service for women in labor. Photo: depositphotos.com

Irina is one of tens of thousands of women who come to America to give birth every year. There are no official statistics on how many there are in total. However, according to the Center for Migration Studies, every year about 36 thousand tourists travel to the United States to give birth. Among them are many residents of China, Taiwan, Nigeria, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey and Russia.

Some of them remain in the country illegally with a child, a US citizen, hoping over time to get under an immigration amnesty, someone leaves home. Naturally, people with a US passport can return to the United States at any time, receiving all the rights owed to a citizen, including the right to free schooling, state aid and scholarships. And on reaching 21, they can easily make a green card to their parents.

Soil right

There are no laws that would prohibit anyone from coming to give birth in the United States. “There is nothing in the law that makes it illegal for pregnant women to enter the United States,” Virginia Kyes, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in an interview. Voice of America. “But communicating a false purpose when trying to get an American visa is a crime,” she adds.

It is this simplicity in obtaining the American citizenship so desired by many that has repeatedly become a stumbling block. The 14-I amendment to the Constitution, adopted almost 150 years ago, provided for the rights and citizenship of African-American slaves, but over time they began to be interpreted fairly freely.

Donald Trump wants to revoke the 14 Amendment to the Constitution. Photo: depositphotos.com

During his election campaign, Donald Trump actively opposed this law and, after taking office, threatened to deport the children of illegal immigrants to their historical homeland. The motive is to end the influx of illegal immigrants who give birth in the United States, stay, and then apply for social assistance. Influential congressmen from the Republican Party - John McCain, Jon Kyl, Jeff Sessions and Lindsey Graham - wanted to remove this amendment before Trump, in 2010, but their intentions remained only intentions.

Information: The United States is not the only country in which citizenship is received by right of soil. A similar law applies in Brazil, Canada, Chile and more than in Latin American 20 countries. Even 16 years ago, citizenship by right of soil was given in Ireland, but in a referendum in 2004, the Irish people voted to toughen this law, and since then a child born in Ireland receives foreign citizenship from a country if one of the parents has 4 years, prior to birth, legally resided in the state for at least 3 of the year.

Childbirth in Miami

In Miami, which has become the epicenter of birth support tourism for people from the post-Soviet space, politicians’ conversations are taken calmly. A number of clinics here specialize in childbirth support and provision of medical services specifically for Russian speakers. When the doctor and client speak the same language, it is easier for a pregnant woman to talk about her condition, problems and discuss preparations for childbirth. Most often, tourists from the former CIS countries fly to Miami in the third trimester for a period of up to 6 months (the maximum time for a one-time entry on a tourist visa). Thus, management of pregnancy in the last stages falls entirely on the shoulders of the local doctor.

SVM-MED assumes that not everyone comes to the United States solely because of the opportunity to obtain American citizenship for a newborn. Photo: from the personal archive of SVM-MED

SVM-MED - One of the leading medical centers in Miami, which deals with obstetrics, urogynecology, minimally invasive surgery, laser surgery, liposuction and cosmetology. The clinic believes in the stability of the American constitution and does not expect any changes in their work.

“We believe that it is virtually impossible to repeal the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. America is a country with an overwhelming majority of immigrants. American citizenship by right of soil is acquired by 61,3% of migrants, and only 38,7% of the population here are Native Americans. Even if we allow the abolition of the 14th Amendment, then the geopolitical factor will come into play - the death rate will exceed the birth rate, which is absolutely unacceptable for such a superpower as the United States. Besides this, the president's wishes alone are not enough. To change a law or introduce a new amendment for consideration, an overwhelming majority of Congress and the Senate, as well as at least 38 US states, must vote for it,” shares a specialist in the medical center’s support and consultation service. SVM-MED Alena Bondar.

However, the clinic suggests that not everyone comes to the United States solely for the opportunity to obtain American citizenship for a newborn. Good reasons - favorable climate, proximity to the ocean, clean beaches - and this is a great place for a baby to start his life and work his immune system. The center says: they offer a high level of medicine plus a lot of additional services for pregnant women, from renting housing and a car for the required period to providing mobile communications and the Internet. Therefore, they believe that regardless of the political situation in the country, they will always have clients.

“Pregnancy is stressful. When a pregnant woman arrives in a city unfamiliar to her, she needs help. After all, many everyday issues need to be resolved - from renting an apartment and car to buying a phone with cellular communication. Each question has its own nuances. Most often, tourists do not know English enough to easily solve any everyday issues, and we come to their aid,” says Alena Bondar.

Women who have arrived to give birth to their clinic have the opportunity to understand how their births will take place before day X. Tours to the hospital are held for this, where you can sign an agreement, see the delivery room, rooms for babies and find out how the birth process goes.

Mariana services are in demand in Miami. Photo: from the personal archive of Mariana Bubuchi

Maryanu Bubuchi from the center SVM-MED know many patients, both in the American and in the Russian community. She is an absolute professional in her field. Trump's initiative is calm. While there is no action on the part of the authorities in this direction, the clinic even announced a large-scale discount program for one of the most popular service packages.

“Our medical center offers pregnancy and childbirth support at a fixed cost based on several packages - natural birth up to 32 weeks, natural birth after 32 weeks and high-risk pregnancy after 32 weeks. Each package includes a meeting at the airport, a trip to the hospital to conclude a contract, pregnancy monitoring, scheduled visits, tests and ultrasound, transportation to childbirth, postpartum examination. Plus, from now until March 8, 2017, we have a promotion - for natural childbirth after 32 weeks you can pay only $3500,” shares Maryana Bubucha.

Dr. Bubuchya on operations. Photo: from the personal archive of Mariana Bubuchi

Legal issue

Famous Immigration Lawyer Ilona Dzhamgarova 16 has been operating in the USA for years. She assures that there is nothing illegal in coming to give birth in the United States. Another thing - what reason the tourist calls the consul at an interview for obtaining a tourist visa B1 / B2.

“Most of those who come for childbirth do not say at the interview that they are “pregnant” and are flying to give birth. They are afraid that they will not get a visa. All this is understandable, but such behavior is a violation of the law, by and large. When interviewed for a second visa, they may be refused. There have been such cases in my practice. The ideal situation is that the tourist tells the consul about the real reason for the trip, shows an agreement with the doctor, an account statement with the required amount for childbirth and accommodation in America, and other supporting documents, receives a visa, spends time in the USA not exceeding 6 months, and returns home ", says Ilona Dzhamgarova.

Lawyer Ilona Dzhamgarova assures that the interview for obtaining a visa can not be called a false reason for the trip. Photo: from the personal archive of Ilona Jamgarova

At the same time Ilona specifies that it cannot be excluded that the woman “in the situation” will be denied entry, even if she gives the consul all the documents and shows the necessary amount of money. The decision always remains for the consul.

The lawyer believes that nothing will change with the arrival of Trump, since his desire to repeal the 14th Amendment will not be passed by the Senate. For example, in 2010, Barack Obama already tried to introduce a law that would allow illegal immigrants who have lived in the United States for more than 5 years and have US citizen children to remain in America, obtain a work permit and SSN. The majority of congressmen were against it, the case was referred to the Supreme Court, and its outcome was decided just a few months ago.

“America is a country of immigrants. It was built by immigrants. The President cannot simply repeal the amendment. The only thing he can really do is tighten the conditions for obtaining documents,” says Ilona.

Since the office Ilona Jamgarova provides a comprehensive range of legal services in the field of immigration law, she shares with ForumDaily exclusive information about Trump’s plans regarding immigration law: “During one of my recent cases, I spoke with an immigration officer and was told that Trump wants to eliminate immigration centers, because 90 % of cases receive a refusal and are transferred to the immigration court. Thus, the president wants to optimize state expenses, because he will not need to maintain centers and pay salaries to officers, and those who want to get political asylum can save on the services of a lawyer during the interview, and immediately go to court. ”

Ilona’s lawyer has a lot of diplomas and awards. Photo: from Ilona Jamgarova’s personal archive

An immigration attorney says that the number of unscrupulous lawyers is increasing every day; they take money from people and promise to help them get asylum even if this is not possible. Ilona never takes on such matters, because it works for the result. Behind her, there are thousands of won political asylum cases.

See also:

From Poor to Rich: How Russians Live in Miami

Personal experience. Births in the USA and medicine in the first year of a child's life

How to get Russian citizenship for a child born in the USА

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