GOP bill blocks pregnant immigrants from entering the U.S.
By Pete Kasperowicz | May 24, 2015 | 5:00 am
Several House Republicans have proposed legislation that would prevent pregnant immigrants from entering the United States, in a bid to stop them from giving birth in the U.S. to bestow U.S. citizenship on their children.
The Stop Birth Tourism Act, from Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., is the latest GOP attempt to stem the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States.
In a letter to his House colleagues seeking support for the bill, Rohrabacher said U.S. consular officers are allowed to turn immigrants away for several reasons, but not for reasons related to what he says is "birth tourism."
"[T]hey do not have the ability to refuse a tourist visa if a pregnant foreigner is likely to come to the United States solely for the purpose of giving birth," he wrote. "My proposal would correct this problem by giving consular officers the authority to deem an alien as ineligible to enter the U.S. on a tourist visa if the officer determines she is likely to give birth in the U.S. if admitted."
He said birth tourism has created an industry in which some people have set up "maternity hotels," which immigrants use to deliver children.
"These maternity hotels are normally single-family homes in our neighborhoods that host numerous pregnant foreigners for months at a time, violating local zoning laws and putting an undue burden on our neighborhoods, hospitals and local governments," he wrote. "Rarely do these maternity hotels have the ability to care for ill mothers and/or their babies, resulting in hospital visits that unfairly come at the cost of the American taxpayers."
Rohrabacher's bill says the government "may require" that a woman seeking to enter the U.S. provide certification by a healthcare provider that she is not pregnant. Or, if she is pregnant, some certification may be required "as to the status of the pregnancy."
That information is required to help determine whether she should be turned away.
"An alien seeking admission to the United States as a non-immigrant ... who a consular officer or the secretary of State determines... is pregnant, and if admitted to the United States, is likely to give birth in the United States, is inadmissible," the bill reads.
Other GOP sponsors of his bill are Reps. Buddy Carter, Ga.; Mike Conaway, Texas; Scott DesJarlais, Tenn.; Louie Gohmert, Texas; Paul Gosar, Ariz.; Sam Johnson, Texas; Walter Jones, N.C.; Steve King, Iowa; Pete Olson, Texas; and Ryan Zinke, Mont.
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