Web sites promote NMI as a place to have babies

For a cost of $15,000 to $40,000, two Web sites are advertising services to Chinese and Japanese women to have their babies on Saipan, in order for the children to gain U.S. citizenship.

Both saipanbaby.com and babysaipan.com list the 14th Amendment and birthright citizenship as reasons to have babies in the Commonwealth.

Babysaipan.com lists nine reasons to have a baby with U.S. citizenship. The reasons include: once 21 years of age, children can help their parents gain citizenship; free education for primary and secondary education and low-cost college education; visa-free travel to most countries; and pension and medical insurance.

A woman answering the phone number listed on the babysaipan.com Web site said she does not speak English. Several “Chinese consultants” are listed on the Web site, including Yang Baby, which helps Chinese women, for a fee, to have children in the U.S. or Canada. A woman named Jane answered the phone for a number listed on the Yang Baby web site. Jane, a Chinese woman who lives in the U.S. mainland, said women typically stay in her friends’ homes. Some families have two or more children in the States, she said.

When asked if she thought the practice was taking advantage of birthright citizenship, she said the babies must get a U.S. birth certificate to receive benefits and the mothers do not receive the same benefits.

A frequently asked question on babysaipan.com said, “we will explain in detail” about how to handle entering immigration while pregnant.

For a three-month stay, Babysaipan.com offers women a deluxe room, which includes maid service, three meals a day, air conditioning, a bed, and telephone and Internet services. A luxury room includes maid services, three meals a day, bed, LCD TV, air conditioning, Internet service, cordless phone and crib. Prices were not listed on the Web site, but it does not hospital fees, airline tickets or costs for labor complications.

Saipanbaby.com offers similar services for 60 days, ranging in cost from $15,000 to $40,000. E-mailed questions were sent to the address provided on the site, but a representative did not respond to questions by press time.

Melvin Grey, director for the CNMI’s Division of Immigration, said the practice of providing services for women to have their babies in the CNMI is fairly common, but that under the 14th Amendment there is nothing the Commonwealth or United States Immigration officers can do.

“It’s not illegal, that’s the whole thing,” he said. “Even the United States mainland has problems.”

He said immigration officials in the U.S. sometimes ask pregnant women if they can prove they are able to pay for their stay and what their intent of entering the country is, but once the women can show proof, they are legally able to enter the country.

“[U.S. immigration officials] have a hard time doing anything with it, because the lady says, ‘I’m visiting friends, I’m not that far along,’” Grey said.

CNMI Immigration officers do not ask pregnant women why they are coming to the Commonwealth, Grey said.

“We don’t even want to get into that area at all,” he said. “We don’t want to stress a lady out,” adding that stress could cause a premature delivery or other complications.

Grey said the Immigration Division does look at other issues related to businesses offering the services.

“There are side issues we have looked into: Is the person running a business without a license? Are they reporting taxes?” he said.

Assistant Attorney General Alex Gorman, legal counsel for the Commonwealth Health Center and Department of Public Health, said he knew people were bringing women to Saipan to have babies but did not know there were Web sites advertising the services.

Although there are two pictures of CHC on the saipanbaby.com web site, Gorman said CHC and DPH are not involved or condone the practice.

“I am sure CHC did not authorize the use of those pictures,” he said an in e-mail. “I will discuss with management DPH/CHC’s options. However, I don’t think it is very easy to police Web sites, i.e., its nearly impossible, especially those located in foreign jurisdictions.”

Two similar Web sites, advertising services to Korean women to have babies in Guam, were shut down last week.