Dr. Wladimir Lorentz, a doctor based out of Miami, Florida, currently facing charges of facilitating birth tourism in the United States, invoked the Fifth Amendment at a congressional hearing.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: A physician from Florida accused of facilitating birth tourism invoked the Fifth Amendment during a hearing in the House of Representatives. 📺 DETAIL: Dr. Wladimir Lorentz, a physician from Miami under federal investigation for his role in allegedly facilitating birth tourism, invoked the Fifth Amendment during a House Oversight Committee hearing on the phenomenon. The hearing was part of an effort by House Republicans to address the abuse of birthright citizenship by foreign nationals attempting to secure citizenship for their children. The hearing was conducted on Tuesday. The House Oversight Committee’s Task Force on Protecting Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses subpoenaed Lorentz after he refused to testify regarding his business: Miami Medical Concierge Services, also known as “Have My Baby in Miami.” Lorentz allegedly facilitated over 2,000 births for foreign clients. According to Dr. Steven Camarota, Director of Research at the Center for Immigration Studies, approximately 20,000 to 26,000 children are born annually in the United States through birth tourism. Camarota also warned that the United States is particularly vulnerable to birth tourism and that China and Russia are the main clients of birth tourists. “For us, it’s a big deal; for other countries, it’s smaller,” said the Director of Research. 💬 KEY QUOTE: “Birth tourists have a very strong incentive to stay long enough to ensure that the whole reason they came has been accomplished… It doesn’t take much for this to run into the millions of dollars.” – Dr. Steven Camarota 🎯 IMPACT: The investigation into Lorentz shows how birth tourism has developed into a criminal industry. It also demonstrates how birthright citizenship makes the U.S. vulnerable to birth tourism, more so than countries without birthright citizenship. Back in August, the Department of State revoked over 600 visas during the course of one month in a federal crackdown on birth tourism. “American citizenship is not for sale,” declared Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the time. However, this is only one form of fraud utilized by foreign nationals. Also back in August, federal prosecutors charged 11 people in connection with a major marriage fraud scheme designed to facilitate permanent residency, mostly for Chinese nationals. |
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