U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is urging Congress to pass the SAFE KIDS Act, federal legislation aimed at preventing foreign adversaries from utilizing birth tourism and surrogacy arrangements to secure U.S. citizenship.
Scott pointed to two separate events on the same day as evidence that federal action is needed. In St. Augustine, a Florida woman appeared in court fighting for custody of twins after the intended biological father—a Chinese national who has never entered the United States—failed to claim the children.
Meanwhile, a congressional task force under the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee scheduled a hearing to examine suspected birth tourism operations operating in the Miami area.
“The case in St. Augustine is tragic, disturbing, and completely preventable,” Scott said. “These poor children, through no fault of their own, are stuck in limbo over where their home will be — all because America’s surrogate system is ripe for abuse and exploitation. My bill, the SAFE KIDS Act, prevents our enemies from abusing our hospitality and medicine to give them a foothold in our country. It would prevent the exact tragedy playing out in Florida right now.”
Scott said commercial operations have emerged around the state to navigate and profit from gaps in existing immigration rules.
“This problem will not go away if we do nothing,” Scott added. “The fact that there are entire businesses in Florida that appear to be based around exploiting our immigration system more than speaks to that. We need to protect the most vulnerable among us from being trafficked and treated like commodities. I am grateful that Chairman Gill and the task force are taking this seriously. America’s enemies should not be able to scam their way to American citizenship. I encourage all my colleagues in the Senate to pass my bill immediately.”
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