Mother Russia: South Florida Experiences a Rise in ‘Birth Tourism’

 

Every year, hundreds of pregnant¹ Russian women travel to the United States to give birth.

The reason: The U.S. Constitution gives citizenship² to any person born on American soil.

The women pay anywhere from $20,000 to as much as $50,000 to people who take care of their travel documents, hotels and hospital stays, often in Florida.

Their children will be receive rights not available to children born in Russia. The parents may also benefit someday as well.

The Russians are part of the new wave of “birth tourists” that includes large numbers of women from China and Nigeria.

President Donald Trump³ has spoken out against the part of the U.S. Constitution that permits “birthright citizenship”. The president has talked about ending it, but changing the constitution would be very difficult.

There have been few cases of officials arresting operators⁴ of birth tourism agencies⁵ for violating⁶ visa rules or other crimes. But coming to the United States to give birth is legal. Russians who talked to The Associated Press (AP) said they were honest when asking for visas and some showed signed documents with doctors and hospitals.

There are no numbers on how many women travel to the United States to give birth. The Center for Immigration Studies estimated⁷ that in 2012, more than 35,000 foreign women entered the U.S. to give birth and then left the country.

The Center for Immigration Studies works⁸ for stronger immigration laws.

The number of Russian women is relatively⁹ large. Anton Yachmenev sets up such trips for the Miami Care company. He told the AP that about 150 Russian families a year use his service. He added there are 30 similar companies in the area.

“With $30,000, we would not be able to buy a (house) for our child or do anything, really. But we could give her freedom. That’s actually really cool,” said Olga Zemlyanaya. She gave birth to a daughter three months ago. She was staying in South Florida until her child receives a U.S. passport.

An American passport can prove useful. After the child turns 21 years of age, he or she can ask for a green card for his parents. A green card gives a non-citizen the right to live in the United States.

A U.S. passport also gives the holder¹⁰ more travel possibilities than a Russian one. Americans can make short-term¹¹ trips to more than 180 countries without a visa, while Russians can go only to about 80 visa-free.

Traveling to the United States on a Russian passport often requires a lot of work to get the visa. It can take months.

Some Russians fear that their ability to travel could be restricted¹² as problems grow between Russia and the west.

“… The country might well close its borders. And if that happens, one would at least have a passport of a different country and be able to leave,” said Ilya Zhegulev. He works for the Latvia-based Russian website Meduza, which is critical of the Russian government.

Last year, Zhegulev sold two cars to pay for a trip to California for him and his wife so she could give birth to their son.

Trump opposes birthright citizenship, but mostly when it comes to those who cross the U.S. border with Mexico. Last year, the president said he wanted to end birthright citizenship. He has not taken any action to do so.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups say Trump cannot change the constitution with an executive¹³ order.

But others, like the Center for Immigration Studies, which wants less immigration, said birthright citizenship is harmful.

“We should definitely¹⁴ do everything we can to end it, because it makes a mockery of citizenship,” said Mark Krikorian. He is the head of the Center for Immigration Studies.

People from Florida have shown no problem with the arrivals of expectant mothers from Russia.

Zemlyanaya said that even her two nights in the hospital were a treat, like “a stay in a good hotel.”

She was able to work at home during her stay thanks to the internet, as were the husbands of other women. This way they do not lose any wages while visiting the United States.

Yachmenev said he expects that birth tourism rate among Russians will only grow.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

benefit – n. a good or helpful result or effect

tourist – n. someone who travels to a place for pleasure, not for business

mockery – n. to make something, or someone, seem ridiculous or useless

1 pregnant   

adj.怀孕的，怀胎的

参考例句：

• She is a pregnant woman.她是一名孕妇。
• She is pregnant with her first child.她怀了第一胎。

2 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 operators   

n.（某企业的）经营者( operator的名词复数 )；（机器、设备等的）操作员；电话接线员；投机取巧者

参考例句：

• A plethora of new operators will be allowed to enter the market. 大批新的运营商将获准进入该市场。 来自辞典例句
• Green house operators have considerable opportunity for precise manipulation of nutrients. 温室管理员有很多机会来准确控制养分。 来自辞典例句

5 agencies   

n.代理( agency的名词复数 )；服务机构；（政府的）专门机构；代理（或经销）业务（或关系）

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations. 联合国有许多专门机构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The project is funded by the World Bank and other multilateral agencies. 这项计划由世界银行和其他多国机构资助。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 violating   

亵渎( violate的现在分词 )； 违反； 侵犯； 强奸

参考例句：

• Ignorance of a law does not excuse a man for violating it. 一个人不懂法律不构成犯法的理由。
• It was sued by the U.S. federal government for violating antitrust law. 它被美国联邦政府指控违反了反托拉斯法。

7 estimated   

adj．根据估计的

参考例句：

• She estimated the breadth of the lake to be 500 metres. 她估计湖面大约有500米宽。
• The man estimated for the repair of the car. 那人估算了修理汽车的费用。

8 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

10 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

11 short-term   

adj.短期的

参考例句：

• The short-term training class has been run three times.短训班办了三期。
• For this they are running short-term courses and evening classes.为此，他们办了短训班和夜校。

12 restricted   

adj.有限的；受约束的

参考例句：

• Speed is restricted to 30 mph in towns. 在城里车速不得超过每小时30英里。
• a restricted range of foods 有限的食物种类

13 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

14 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。