Washington: Three Republican senators are urging the Trump administration to shut down visa and parole programs they say allow Chinese nationals to exploit US citizenship laws through birth tourism and surrogacy.
Sens. Rick Scott, Jim Banks, and Markwayne Mullin sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum calling the programs a national security risk. They argue the policies allow nationals from Communist China to gain fast-track access to US citizenship through children born in US territories.
The senators focused on the Guam–Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Visa Waiver Program and a newer offshoot created under the Biden administration. They said the programs allow visa-free entry for Chinese nationals and have fueled a sharp rise in birth tourism in Saipan.
“We write to express our gratitude for your commitment to protecting the homeland from foreign threats,” the senators wrote. They said an Obama- and Biden-era policy allows Chinese nationals “to obtain fast-track American citizenship,” calling it a “clear and significant short- and long-term national security risk”.
The letter cites a Wall Street Journal investigation that found Chinese nationals increasingly using the US surrogacy system to secure citizenship for their children. The senators said these practices often occur outside traditional immigration vetting.
The Guam–CNMI Visa Waiver Program was created in 2009. It allows holders of Hong Kong passports to enter the CNMI for up to 45 days without a visa. A newer program, the CNMI Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program, introduced in 2024, allows Chinese nationals to enter the CNMI for 14 days visa-free.
According to the senators, births to visiting Chinese mothers in Saipan rose from fewer than 10 a year in 2009 to nearly 600 by 2018. They cited a VOA News investigation that found more than 3,300 babies have been born in Saipan to Chinese mothers since 2009. Fifty-five such births occurred last year alone.
Under US law, those children can later sponsor their parents for green cards when they turn 21. The senators warned this could lead to chain migration. They also said the children’s own offspring could become US citizens regardless of where they are born.
The senators argued the programs strain local resources. They cited former CNMI Gov. Arnold Palacios, who said birth tourism overwhelmed the territory’s only public hospital and burdened medical services.
The senators asked the administration to revoke the Biden-era EVS-TAP program and require standard tourist visas for Chinese nationals visiting the CNMI. They also urged ending Hong Kong’s participation in the visa waiver program.
(IANS)
