Washington, Jan 23 (NationPress) A trio of Republican senators is calling on the Trump administration to terminate visa and parole programs that they allege enable individuals from China to manipulate US citizenship regulations through birth tourism and surrogacy.

Sens. Rick Scott, Jim Banks, and Markwayne Mullin directed a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, branding these programs a national security threat. They contend that such policies grant Chinese nationals expedited access to US citizenship via their children born in US territories.

The senators highlighted the Guam–Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Visa Waiver Program and a recently established variant under the Biden administration. They assert that these programs permit visa-free travel for Chinese nationals and have led to a significant increase in birth tourism in Saipan.

“We write to convey our appreciation for your dedication to safeguarding the homeland from foreign dangers,” the senators stated. They criticized an Obama- and Biden-era policy that enables Chinese nationals to “secure fast-tracked American citizenship,” deeming it a “clear and significant short- and long-term national security risk”.

The letter references a Wall Street Journal investigation revealing that Chinese nationals are increasingly utilizing the US surrogacy system to obtain citizenship for their children. The senators argued that these actions often bypass conventional immigration scrutiny.

Established in 2009, the Guam–CNMI Visa Waiver Program allows holders of Hong Kong passports to enter the CNMI for up to 45 days without needing a visa. A more recent initiative, the CNMI Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program, launched in 2024, permits Chinese nationals to stay in the CNMI for 14 days without a visa.

Data provided by the senators indicates that births to visiting Chinese mothers in Saipan surged from fewer than 10 annually in 2009 to nearly 600 in 2018. They referenced a VOA News investigation revealing over 3,300 babies born in Saipan to Chinese mothers since 2009, with 55 births occurring last year alone.

According to US law, these children will later be able to sponsor their parents for green cards upon turning 21. The senators warned this could result in chain migration. They also pointed out that the children’s descendants could gain US citizenship regardless of their birthplace.

The senators contended that these programs place undue pressure on local resources. They cited former CNMI Governor Arnold Palacios, who noted that birth tourism has strained the territory’s only public hospital and its medical services.

The senators have requested the administration to revoke the Biden-era EVS-TAP program and mandate standard tourist visas for Chinese nationals visiting the CNMI. They also called for the termination of Hong Kong’s involvement in the visa waiver program.