{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://sablan.house.gov/nmi-taps-dhs-chinese-govt-asiana-airlines", "NMI taps DHS, Chinese govt, Asiana Airlines", "2013-11-12", "2013", "2013-11", "Independent", "Senate", "MP", "Gregorio Sablan", "S001177", "sablan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Weeks after national media put the CNMI on the spotlight over incidences of mostly Chinese \u201ctourists\u201d coming to Saipan to give birth, Gov. Eloy S. Inos and Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) said yesterday they are now working with Asiana Airlines, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Chinese government to further minimize\u2014if not totally eliminate\u2014the so-called \u201cbirth tourism\u201d here.\u2028\u2028 \n\u201cBirth tourism\u201d refers to travel for the purpose of giving birth to an automatic U.S. citizen child in the CNMI or any other U.S. state or territory.\u2028\u2028\nInos and Sablan said a closer scrutiny found that most of those who come to Saipan solely to give birth do so by boarding Asiana Airlines\u2019 scheduled commercial flights.\u2028\u2028\nThis is contrary to reports that birth tourists were brought here through charter flights, whose travel agents have long put in place strict procedures to deter birth tourism.\u2028\u2028\nAsiana Airlines has agreed to be more vigilant in screening their passengers, Inos and Sablan said.\u2028\u2028\n\u201cIt could be a liability, too [for Asiana Airlines],\u201d the governor said.\u2028\u2028\nInos said it would be to Asiana Airlines\u2019 benefit \u201cto make sure that those things don\u2019t happen\u201d because, among other things, the airline has to immediately bring back those passengers that were not allowed entry to the CNMI for improper or lack of required documentation.\u2028\u2028\n\u201cAnd so the airline would have to pick up that cost; you have to bump somebody off going back on that flight just to make sure [those turned away are sent back immediately]. So it\u2019s an incentive for them to do the right thing,\u201d Inos said.\u2028\u2028\nBut more still needs to be done, including for Asiana Airlines to identify, for example, certain independent travel agents that book flights for birth tourists.\u2028\u2028\n\u201cThat\u2019s where we have to zero in. We\u2019re not too concerned about the chartered ones; we know they\u2019re controlled by just two travel agencies,\u201d the governor said.\u2028\u2028\nHe said despite strict policies in place, there could still be some that will slip through the cracks.\u2028\u2028Inos said people can\u2019t be sent away \u201cjust because they\u2019re pregnant.\u201d\nHe said they have to have proper documentation, among other things. \u2028\u2028\nTheir main concern is the health of these tourists coming in.\u2028\u2028The governor and the delegate said the two travel agencies based in the CNMI have been chartering flights between Saipan and China\u2014Century Tours/Tinian Dynasty and TDI\u2014but they have been carefully screening their business partners in China to avoid activities \u2028\u2028\n\u2018Small\u2019 issue\u2028\u2028\nIt was the governor\u2019s and the delegate\u2019s first joint news briefing since Inos became governor in February.\u2028\u2028\nAt the briefing, Sablan and Inos repeatedly said birth tourism in the CNMI is \u201csmall\u201d compared to what\u2019s happening in U.S. states, especially on West Coast.\u2028\u2028\nBoth officials, however, could not say how many Chinese \u201ctourists\u201d\u2014as opposed to Chinese residents\u2014gave birth to the CNMI in recent period.\u2028\u2028\nThey also could not say the number of individuals that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has sent back to their country of origin for not meeting documentation requirements for certain pregnant tourists and their companions.\u2028\u2028\nThe key issue, according to Inos and Sablan, is that the CNMI is doing all it can to ensure that a \u201csmall\u201d issue becomes \u201cmuch, much smaller.\u201d\u2028\u2028\n\u201cI don\u2019t know if we can eliminate, but maybe minimize this thing. We haven\u2019t seen any major increase in this situation. In fact we\u2019re seeing less and less. But it only takes one incident to really blow this out of proportion but we\u2019re dealing with it,\u201d the governor said.\u2028\u2028\nThe governor also pointed out that the CNMI has never made any announcement nor intended to become a destination for birth tourism.\u2028\n\u2028He added that when the CNMI was still in control of its borders, there was also strict review of visitors\u2019 entry permit to deter questionable activities.\u2028\u2028\nInos conceded that when the CNMI gained access to Chinese tourists without U.S. visas and the CNMI being the \u201cclosest U.S. border, the focus has shifted over to the CNMI.\u201d \u2028\u2028\nBut the governor pointed out that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has done a \u201cgreat job\u201d securing the CNMI\u2019s borders.\u2028\u2028The governor also said the recent incident wherein a pregnant Chinese broke her water bag at the airport \u201cshouldn\u2019t happen here.\u201d\u2028\u2028\nSablan said the individual \u201cshould not have boarded the flight.\u201d\u2028\u2028\nThe United States is one of a few countries that observe jus soli, which grants automatic citizenship to children born within its territory, regardless of the parents\u2019 nationality or citizenship.\u2028\u2028\nRisks to CNMI\u2028\u2028\nSablan said the CNMI wants to ensure the issue becomes too insignificant so as not to risk the U.S. visa waiver for CNMI-bound Chinese tourists.\u2028\u2028\nDHS\u2019 decision to waive U.S. visa requirement for Chinese and Russian tourists has brought substantial tourism economic activities to the CNMI.\u2028\u2028\nOnce DHS decides to lift that waiver, the impact on the CNMI would be devastating.\u2028\u2028\n\u201cChina [arrival] is huge for us here and we want to make sure it continues to grow. There may be ways that I don\u2019t think I\u2019m at liberty to discuss. There may be ways to do this in an amicable manner and we\u2019re working with federal partners,\u201d Sablan said.\u2028\u2028\nThe delegate said the CNMI continues to welcome tourists from China to enjoy the CNMI\u2019s \u201cbeautiful islands,\u201d \u201cgreat weather\u201d and \u201cgorgeous waters.\u201d\u2028\u2028\nThe governor, for his part, said the CNMI\u2014particularly the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.\u2014is also liable if the issue is not controlled.\u2028\u2028\nThese include CHC accepting women to deliver babies without knowing whether they underwent prenatal checkup or their medical history.\u2028\u2028\nMoreover, these tourists are not eligible for Medicare and if the women are unable to pay, CHC takes on the burden.\u2028\u2028\u201cWhat I\u2019m saying is, if something happens along the way, the delivery or after delivery, say the baby is not functioning properly or something like that, and the mother just walked away, I hate to see that happen, but it could be a problem,\u201d Inos said.\u2028\u2028\nBut he said to his knowledge, no baby of a tourist has been abandoned at CHC.\u2028\u2028Moreover, those who come to the CNMI for birth tourism come financially prepared, the governor said.\u2028Inos also said one area that can be looked at is the private clinics that provide prenatal checkups to Chinese tourists.\u2028\u2028\nWorking with Chinese government\u2028\u2028\nThe governor, in responding to a media question, said his office has reached out to the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles, California to address the matter at hand.\u2028\u2028\u201c\nWe\u2019ve opened the door, we brought the subject up and they\u2019re willing to sit down and discuss about this matter,\u201d Inos said.\u2028\u2028\nEngaging the feds\u2028\u2028\nIn April this year, Inos and Sablan jointly wrote a letter to DHS, seeking actions to address birth tourism.\u2028\u2028\nSablan said he has been following this up with DHS and he expects to have another meeting with DHS when he gets back to Washington, D.C. this week.\u2028\u2028\nHe said he continues to engage the CNMI\u2019s federal partners.\u2028\u2028For example, the federal government could enter into an agreement with signatory airlines on additional conditions imposed on passengers that board the airlines.\u2028\u2028\n\u201cWe\u2019re not there yet but Governor Inos and I have started engaging federal authorities,\u201d the delegate added.\u2028\u2028\nHigh fees as deterrent\u2028\u2028\nThe CNMI government is also looking at increasing the cost of baby delivery at CHC for tourists as \u201ca \u201cdisincentive\u201d or \u201cdeterrent\u201d to birth tourism, and not as a revenue-generating measure for the hospital.\u2028\u2028\n\u201cBut listen, there\u2019s a lot of money in China and they\u2019re willing to pay whatever it costs to get their citizenship,\u201d he said.\u2028\u2028\nHe said any increased fee would have to vetted through regulatory process.\u2028\u2028\nThe governor said he would also like to see a proposal to impose security deposit to ensure all expenses are covered.\u2028\u2028\nEarlier, the idea of raising the cost of a birth certificate from the current $20 to $50,000 for babies of tourists was also explored.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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": ["http://sablan.house.gov/nmi-taps-dhs-chinese-govt-asiana-airlines"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8835720364004374, "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"}