Presenter(s): Lauren Garcia
Co Presenter(s): Jaidan McLean
Faculty Mentor(s): Matthias Vogel & Alina Chen
Poster 183
Session: Global Engagement ARC
In this presentation, we will be exploring the topic of birth tourism, specifically regarding mothers from China. Birth tourism is where pregnant women come to the United States for the purpose of giving birth on U.S. soil so that their child will be granted U.S. citizenship. The 14th Amendment allows birth tourism to act as a “constitutional loophole” for immigration. Many people have voiced mixed feelings and concerns about this, primarily after the discovery of a major “maternity hotel” in Southern California. This has sparked much debate on whether or not the phenomenon should to be restricted or if it is simply another form of immigration Chinese mothers use to give their children a brighter future as citizenship in the United States opens up countless opportunities. We will discuss reasons why Chinese mothers leave their country and we will explore why Chinese mothers deem the U.S. to hold some of the “best opportunities” for their children. In the current political climate, immigration is a much- discussed topic and our exploration of this form of immigration aims to bring increased awareness around birth tourism which is often disputed as “unworthy” out of ignorance and often hidden from public view.