Federal agents arrested on Saturday a man who allegedly devised a scheme using articles he created in the Internet to encourage Chinese nationals to come to Saipan to give birth to U.S. citizen children.
Kuanyi Chen, 39, also known as Pangzi, was taken to the U.S. District Court for the NMI yesterday afternoon for his initial court appearance.
Attorney Mark Hanson was appointed as counsel for Chen, who was detained based on a criminal complaint charging him with one count of harboring illegal aliens and two counts of enticing the illegal entry of aliens.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent Michael D. Lansangan stated in his report that Chen, a Saipan resident and citizen of Taiwan, is involved in the recruitment and facilitation of travel, housing and other services for citizens of the People's Republic of China who travel to Saipan from China for the purpose of giving birth to U.S. citizen children.
The past couple of years, the scheme has come to be known as birth tourism and “Made in USA” scheme.
Lansangan said Chen provides services and consultation to Chinese families for a fee, despite having knowledge that these aliens intend to violate their parole and misrepresent their intentions for entering Saipan to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.
Lansangan said the defendant communicates with these prospective Chinese customers through articles posted on the Internet and through the Internet social network/messenger service known as QQ.
On July 9, 2012 a special agent interviewed Youli Xu, a Chinese citizen, who claimed that he had been cheated and victimized by a Saipan resident named Pangzi.
Homeland Security Investigation agents later identified Pangzi as Chen.
Lansangan said Xu was referred to HSI by a law enforcement official from another federal agency.
On July 23, 2012, Lansangan said the special agent conducted computerized immigration records checks on Xu and his wife Rongqin Gao.
Lansangan said Xu told him and the other special agent that he had conducted research on the Internet on how to give birth to their child outside of China.
Using an Internet search, Xu found numerous articles and Internet webpage links describing the possibility and advantages of giving birth to a child on Saipan.
One article, titled “US Giving Birth,” included information about Saipan as an island that gives U.S. citizenship to any person born there after 1986 and guidance that pregnant women should travel to Saipan when they are four or five months pregnant, among other information.
In the articles, Chen provides contact information in the form of QQ Internet messenger accounts, as well as Chinese telephone number.
Chen allegedly described to Xu and Gao the advantages of traveling to Saipan from China to give birth to a U.S. citizen child and assured them that the information provided in his articles were accurate.
Chen also described the services he provided to customers for a fee, which included among other things, free consultation on Saipan for the pregnant woman, arrangements for itinerary and travel of the pregnant woman to Saipan, instructions on how to board the plane and how to go through customs officials.
In March 2012, Xu and Gao decided to travel from China to Saipan to give birth to a U.S. citizen child.
Chen informed Xu that the consultation fee would be $800. Xu agreed to pay Chen the amount.
The couple said they followed the instructions and recommendation given to them by Chen.
Chen had sent Xu reservation information for a Chalan Kanoa Beach Hotel prior to traveling to Saipan.
Chen met Xu and Gao at the hotel after they arrived on Saipan and paid for hotel transportation from the airport to the hotel.
Chen paid the hotel $133 in cash for the couple to stay there for one night.
The following morning Xu and Gao were met by Qingquing Wang, a Chinese national whom Xu had met online on Chen's QQ chat group.
Wang and his wife Min Gong had also allegedly used the services of Chen to come to Saipan and give birth to a U.S. citizen child.
Chen later arrived at the hotel and joined Xu, Gao and Wang in Xu's hotel room.
Xu and Gao then checked out of the hotel and rode in Chen's car to a nearby apartment complex.
Chen also held a group meeting that day with Xu, Gao, Wang, Gong, and other birthing customers-a couple and a woman.
Chen told the customers about different entry bans.
Lansangan said that, on March 14, 2012, Xu paid Chen $533.
Of this amount, $133 was for Xu and Gao's one night stay at the hotel. The remaining $400 was half of the consultation fee of $800 that Chen and Xu had agreed upon.
The balance of $400 was to be paid after Gao delivered her baby on Saipan.
Lansangan said according to Xu, he returned to China on March 20, 2012, leaving Gao and their minor-age son on Saipan.
Xu returned to Saipan in April 2012.
Xu learned from Gao that she had an argument with Chen because he was restricting all the pregnant women's movements outdoors because of immigration officials.
On July 10, 2012, Lansangan said Xu showed him and the other special agent digital photographs of Chen and his wife which Xu retrieved from the photo application on his tablet computer.
Among the photographs were two vehicles owned by Chen and his wife.
Lansangan said that, on July 18, 2012, HIS agents spotted Chen at a restaurant in Susupe and placed him under surveillance.
The agents then interviewed Chen's other customers and subsequently arrested Chen.
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