Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Friday that his office has shut down a Houston-based operation accused of running a Chinese birth tourism scheme, marking a significant victory in the state’s legal fight against the alleged enterprise.
The center, De’Ai Postpartum Care Center, was sued by the State of Texas in April for allegedly “exploiting birthright citizenship by unlawfully facilitating the invasion of Chinese nationals … for the sole purpose of giving birth.” According to the lawsuit, the operation helped more than 1,000 Chinese foreign nationals give birth on U.S. soil, thereby securing American citizenship for their children.
“I will do everything in my power to stop foreign nationals from unlawfully exploiting our immigration system through the scam of ‘birth tourism,'” Paxton said in a statement on Friday. “This operation helped Chinese foreign nationals come to Texas to evade our laws. Now, we have to shut it down.”
Paxton, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas, has made immigration enforcement a centerpiece of his tenure as attorney general. The shutdown of De’Ai Postpartum Care Center comes amid a broader push by the Trump administration to curtail birthright citizenship and what it describes as related abuses.
Inside the Operation
Earlier this year, the Daily Wire visited the three homes and one apartment allegedly operated by De’Ai in Houston. During that visit, a man identifying himself as Lai Wan Lin-Chan — who is named as a defendant in the state’s lawsuit — was seen wearing a “Make America Cowboy Again” shirt. Lin-Chan told the reporter he would need a lawyer to discuss the case and asked the reporter to leave.
The center’s social media presence offered a window into its marketing. One TikTok video advised women to apply for American tourist visas “before pregnancy,” warning that the federal government “will strictly investigate birth tourism” and that “it is easy to be rejected if you sign after pregnancy.”
According to Paxton’s lawsuit, the center “claims to offer a variety of options for tourism while expectant families await the birth of their child,” including a “luxury chauffeured black-car service across the Houston area for its high-paying guests.” The service was purportedly used to visit attractions such as the spring bluebonnets in Brenham, the Houston Rodeo, Christmas light shows in Houston, and the Louvre Couture exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts.
Neighbors in the area reported seeing multiple vehicles crammed into the driveways of the center’s homes. One neighbor, who identified himself only as David out of concern for his safety, said he had observed many different people going in and out of one of the properties.
A Growing Crackdown
The closure of De’Ai Postpartum Care Center is the latest development in a broader federal effort to address birth tourism and birthright citizenship. In June, the Supreme Court blocked President Donald Trump’s first attempt to end birthright citizenship. Undeterred, Trump signed executive orders in August aimed at ending the exploitation of birthright citizenship through birth tourism and certain surrogacy arrangements. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Maryland temporarily blocked one of those orders.
Texas’s lawsuit against De’Ai was one of the first state-level actions targeting birth tourism operations. The state alleged that the center’s business model relied on helping pregnant Chinese women obtain tourist visas, travel to the United States, and give birth in Texas, all with the goal of securing U.S. citizenship for their children.
The shutdown represents a win for Paxton, who has been active in filing lawsuits against entities he accuses of violating immigration laws. In his statement, Paxton framed the closure as a necessary step to protect the integrity of the immigration system.
“This operation helped Chinese foreign nationals come to Texas to evade our laws,” he said. “Now, we have to shut it down.”
The Daily Wire’s earlier visit to the properties provided a rare look inside the operation. At the time, the center appeared to be operating out of residential homes, with little indication from the outside of the business being conducted within. The man who identified himself as Lin-Chan declined to answer questions, citing the need for legal counsel.
While the state’s lawsuit focused on De’Ai, the broader issue of birth tourism has drawn attention from lawmakers at both the state and federal levels. Critics argue that the practice exploits a loophole in immigration law, while supporters of birthright citizenship contend that it is enshrined in the 14th Amendment and should not be curtailed by executive action.
The closure of De’Ai Postpartum Care Center is unlikely to end the debate. As the Trump administration continues its efforts to crack down on birth tourism, similar operations may face increased scrutiny. For now, Texas has succeeded in shuttering one of the largest alleged birth tourism centers in the country, sending a message that such enterprises will not be tolerated within its borders.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-shuts-down-chinese-birth-tourism-center-visited-by-daily-wire