Washington: Two senior Republican senators have urged the US Department of Justice to investigate what they described as foreign-operated surrogacy centres exploiting American citizenship laws, raising concerns that the practice poses a “serious national security risk”.
In a letter dated February 26 to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Senators Tom Cotton and Rick Scott requested that the Department of Justice “investigate surrogacy centers operated by foreign nationals”.
“We write requesting that the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigate surrogacy centers operated by foreign nationals. Alarming reports indicate that Chinese nationals are systematically exploiting America’s surrogacy and birthright citizenship laws,” the senators wrote.
The lawmakers cited reports of “more than 107 Chinese-owned surrogacy agencies operating in Southern California alone”. According to the letter, these agencies “cater almost exclusively to wealthy Chinese clients, and some are affiliated with Chinese state-owned entities”.
The senators alleged that “Chinese nationals pay women living in the United States more than $50,000 to serve as surrogates”. They added: “The children are born on United States soil and granted automatic citizenship. And in most cases, the infants are promptly flown to China and raised there under the direct influence of the Chinese Communist Party.”
In one example cited in the letter, “a single Chinese billionaire has fathered more than 100 American-born children through this process, with the explicit goal of producing male heirs who hold US passports”.
“These children will eventually be eligible to vote in American elections, access sensitive positions, or otherwise advance Beijing’s interests, all while owing their allegiance to the CCP,” the senators wrote.
“This not only exploits our current immigration and citizenship laws, but also raises serious concerns whether this is a deliberate, long-term strategy by an adversary to ideologically and systematically undermine the United States. This practice poses a serious national security risk.”
Cotton and Scott asked the Justice Department to “launch a full investigation into the matter” and requested written responses by March 13.
They posed three specific questions, including whether the DOJ has identified “any potential violations of federal statutes — including but not limited to immigration fraud, human trafficking, or foreign-agent registration requirements — by foreign-owned surrogacy agencies or their clients”.
The senators also sought the department’s estimate of “the total number of surrogacy clinics and agencies operated by foreign nationals nationwide” and how many are “owned or primarily controlled by Chinese nationals”.
Surrogacy arrangements in the United States are governed primarily by state law, and citizenship is granted under the 14th Amendment to those born on American soil. The practice has long drawn political debate, particularly around so-called “birthright citizenship” and its intersection with immigration policy.
In recent years, concerns about foreign influence and alleged misuse of US legal frameworks have featured prominently in congressional scrutiny of China, especially in areas linked to national security, technology and higher education. The latest letter places surrogacy and citizenship policy within that broader strategic debate.
(IANS)
