House committee investigates South Florida company accused of promoting ‘birth tourism’

NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — A South Florida company that markets services to foreign women seeking to give birth in the United States is under investigation by the House Oversight Committee, according to a letter sent to the company’s founder.

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The investigation comes as birthright citizenship has returned to the national spotlight.

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the ability of lower courts to issue nationwide injunctions against President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to restrict birthright citizenship, while leaving broader constitutional questions unresolved. Trump has since called on Congress to address concerns about the practice.

Local 10 News first reported on the concierge service months ago.

The company, Have My Baby in Miami, promotes services for pregnant women around the world seeking to give birth in South Florida.

Its social media pages identify Dr. Wladimir Lorentz, a Miami pediatrician, as the creator of the service and encourage prospective clients by saying he “will love helping you be a mom in the United States.”

Texas Congressman Brandon Gill referenced the company while discussing birth tourism.

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“Have My Baby in Miami — that’s the name of an actual company that’s facilitating birth tourism in the United States,” Gill said.

In a letter sent to Lorentz in May, the House Oversight Committee announced it had opened an investigation into the company.

The letter states, in part: “While it is not inherently illegal for a foreign traveler to give birth in the United States, willfully misrepresenting one’s intentions to enter the country on a temporary visitor visa is a violation of current law and considered visa fraud.”

Local 10 News has repeatedly sought comment from Lorentz by phone, email and text but has not received a response.

On Wednesday, a Local 10 News crew went to Lorentz’s listed office in North Miami Beach. Staff members said he was not at the clinic, took the station’s contact information and asked the crew to leave.

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