{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-scott-to-bondi-investigate-chinese-owned-surrogacy-centers", "Cotton, Scott to Bondi: Investigate Chinese owned Surrogacy Centers", "2026-02-26", "2026", "2026-02", "Republican", "Senate", "AR", "Tom Cotton", "C001095", "www.cotton.senate.gov", "cotton", "https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\n\nContact: Patrick McCann (202) 224-2353\n\nFebruary 26, 2026\n\nCotton, Scott to Bondi: Investigate Chinese owned Surrogacy Centers\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida) today sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi urging an investigation into surrogacy centers operated by foreign nationals. Recent reports indicate Chinese nationals systematically exploiting America\u2019s surrogacy and birthright citizenship laws through CCP affiliated surrogacy agencies operating in the United States.\n\nIn part, the Senators wrote:\n\n\u201cRecent reports have uncovered more than 107 Chinese-owned surrogacy agencies operating in Southern California alone. These agencies cater almost exclusively to wealthy Chinese clients, and some are affiliated with Chinese state-owned entities. Chinese nationals pay women living in the United States more than $50,000 to serve as surrogates. The children are born on United States soil and granted automatic citizenship. And in most cases, the infants are promptly flown to China and raised there under the direct influence of the Chinese Communist Party.\u201d\n\nFull text of the letter may be found here and below.\n\nFebruary 26, 2026\n\nThe Honorable Pam Bondi\n\nAttorney General of the United States\n\nU.S. Department of Justice\n\n950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW\n\nWashington, D.C. 20530\n\nDear Attorney General Bondi:\n\nWe write requesting that the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigate surrogacy centers operated by foreign nationals. Alarming reports indicate that Chinese nationals are systematically exploiting America\u2019s surrogacy and birthright citizenship laws.\n\nRecent reports have uncovered more than 107 Chinese-owned surrogacy agencies operating in Southern California alone. These agencies cater almost exclusively to wealthy Chinese clients, and some are affiliated with Chinese state-owned entities. Chinese nationals pay women living in the United States more than $50,000 to serve as surrogates. The children are born on United States soil and granted automatic citizenship. And in most cases, the infants are promptly flown to China and raised there under the direct influence of the Chinese Communist Party.\n\nIn one instance, a single Chinese billionaire has fathered more than 100 American-born children through this process, with the explicit goal of producing male heirs who hold U.S. passports. These children will eventually be eligible to vote in American elections, access sensitive positions, or otherwise advance Beijing\u2019s interests, all while owing their allegiance to the CCP. This not only exploits our current immigration and citizenship laws, but also raises serious concerns whether this is a deliberate, long-term strategy by an adversary to ideologically and systematically undermine the United States. This practice poses a serious national security risk.\n\nWe therefore request that the DOJ launch a full investigation into the matter. We also respectfully request written responses to the following questions no later than March 13, 2026:\n\nHas the DOJ identified any potential violations of federal statutes\u2014including but not limited to immigration fraud, human trafficking, or foreign-agent registration requirements\u2014by foreign-owned surrogacy agencies or their clients?\n\nWhat is the DOJ\u2019s current estimate of the total number of surrogacy clinics and agencies operated by foreign nationals nationwide?\n\nOf those clinics and agencies, how many are owned or primarily controlled by Chinese nationals?\n\nWe look forward to working with you on this matter.\n\nSincerely,", 1, "2026-04-04T05:28:40Z", "2026-04-04T05:30:10Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-scott-to-bondi-investigate-chinese-owned-surrogacy-centers"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7553650066256523, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}