ORLANDO, Fla. — Each year, tens of thousands of pregnant women travel to the United States just to give birth.
It’s what’s called “Birth Tourism.” The topic has taken center stage as President Donald Trump tries to end birthright citizenship in America.
The matter is not only controversial, but also a business, with some companies making big bucks with that. “I wanted to make sure she would have more opportunities and better education,” said a woman who agreed to tell her story without sharing her identity.
A few years ago, the woman says she came to the United States pregnant, so she could give birth in America.
At the time, she says she had a tourist visa and stayed in the country for less than 6 months. “I was 7 months pregnant, I had a very healthy pregnancy, so I knew I wouldn’t have any risks during the trip,” she disclosed.
The woman, who found a clinic in Florida, shared that some of her medical bills, including her child’s birth, were paid by Medicaid. “I think it all came down to less than 5 thousand dollars, close to 4, actually,” she recalls. “My daughter already left the U.S. with an American passport.”
The amount she referred to was paid out of pocket. According to the Peterson KFF Healthcare tracker, the average cost of a birth is just about 19 thousand dollars. “Basically, you planned to be here when you went into labor,” Channel 9’s Geovany Dias asked the woman. “Yes. I usually tell people I basically didn’t pay anything, and I would’ve left if I didn’t get the coverage through Medicaid,” the woman said.
In Florida, non-citizens, who are Medicaid eligible except for their citizenship status, may be eligible for Medicaid to cover a serious medical emergency, including emergency labor and delivery of a child.
“So, that means we, taxpayers, are paying for someone else to use that is correct?” Channel 9’s Geovany Dias asked immigration attorney Walter Santos. “Yes,” Santos responded.
The exact number of people born under a tourist visa in the U.S. is not available. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, however, there are between 20,000 to 26,000 tourist babies born in America every year.
Meanwhile, there is yet another way people from all over the world can have an American baby on their own, without Medicaid—by hiring companies like ‘Have My Baby in Miami’, which is based in South Florida.
On their website, they advertise all the benefits of having a child in America and a step-by-step process for doing so, including preparing for the trip, obtaining documents after birth, and going back home.
Channel 9 reached out to the company to ask about services and prices. They sent us a list with a breakdown - someone from outside the U.S., for example, can have a natural birth in America for about $16,000. A C-section goes up to nearly $19,000. Almost $24,000 if the person is having twins.
All of it, out of pocket. There’s no indication the company uses or encourages the use of Medicaid for their clients.
Experts say this practice is perfectly legal. “It is, in a way, troublesome to know that this happens because we may be creating an army that could target us in the future,” Walter Santos said.
Although birth tourism is not illegal, Santos explains it is controversial, especially when people come to the United States to use services provided by tax dollars, like Medicaid and Medicare. “It’s a national security threat,” the attorney said. “How do we know if the person that is coming back to the United States is the same baby who was born here? we don’t collect fingerprints, biometrics from a baby.”
For now, people born in the U.S. are still considered citizens despite the president’s executive order because there’s a federal injunction.
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