House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has issued a subpoena to Dr. Wladimir Lorentz, the doctor behind Have My Baby in Miami, a South Florida business that helps foreigners give birth in the United States. The committee is preparing for a September 1 hearing on birth tourism practices.
The subpoena comes after Comer said Lorentz refused to voluntarily appear through his attorney. According to Comer's letter sent Tuesday, Lorentz's attorney argued he could not speak with the committee due to an ongoing criminal probe by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.
"As the Founder and Chief Medical Officer of a company doing business as 'Have My Baby in Miami,' your knowledge regarding the company's marketing practices and direct observations relevant to the birth tourism industry is vital to the immediate investigation," Comer's subpoena letter read.
What the Right Is Saying
Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, who chairs the committee's task force on investigating institutional abuses, voiced strong support for the investigation. "A growing industry is openly marketing American citizenship to foreign nationals who travel here for the express purpose of giving birth on U.S. soil," Gill said. "This abuse of our immigration system also raises serious national security concerns, particularly given the number of birth tourists traveling from adversarial nations like China and Russia."
Comer echoed those concerns in his subpoena letter: "Given the national security concerns raised by birth tourism, delaying the hearing or deferring your testimony to some unknown date in the (potentially far) future would be an extraordinary action that would curtail the Committee's ability to glean valuable information."
What the Left Is Saying
Democratic lawmakers have largely remained quiet on the specific subpoena, but some progressive voices have raised concerns about the broader crackdown on birth tourism. Critics argue that efforts to restrict birthright citizenship conflict with the 14th Amendment and could affect long-standing legal precedent.
Immigration rights advocates contend that the practice, while controversial, involves families following existing laws. Some Democrats have questioned whether targeting individual doctors or businesses effectively addresses broader immigration reform needs.
What the Numbers Show
According to a Local 10 investigation published in October 2025, Have My Baby in Miami reportedly advertised on its now-disabled website and social media pages that it helped facilitate the delivery of approximately 2,000 babies. The company targeted foreign nationals seeking to give their children U.S. citizenship.
President Trump has issued executive orders targeting birth tourism after the Supreme Court rejected his broader attempt to end birthright citizenship through executive action. These orders specifically ban categories such as children born to foreign government workers from automatically receiving U.S. citizenship.
Birth tourism is estimated by immigration researchers to involve tens of thousands of births annually, though precise figures are difficult to determine.
The Bottom Line
The September 1 hearing will examine whether birth tourism operations violate existing laws and pose national security risks. Dr. Lorentz could face criminal charges if he defies the congressional subpoena. The investigation is expected to feature testimony from Dr. Steve Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies and Dr. Julio César Novoa, medical director of International Maternity Services.
The outcome of this investigation could inform potential legislative proposals on birth tourism restrictions beyond current executive orders.