Category Archives: The Denise Simon Experience

Judge Merchan is Part of an Incestuous Legal Template

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There is a clique, a tribe and even a dynasty when it comes to judges, law firms and cases…they do collude and certainly between Washington DC and New York.

Juan Merchan - Zeydanspriyadi Judge Juan Merchan

So, have a look at the Judge overseeing the Trump ‘hush-money’ case, Juan Merchan…You may need to even take notes for this.

  • Merchan was born in Bogota, Columbia and later emigrated to New York and is a graduate of Hofstra University.
  • Merchan’s career began with the appointment to a Bronx Family Court by then Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Then Democrat Governor David Patterson appointed Merchan to the New York State Supreme Court.
  • He has given campaign donations to the Democrat Party, to Joe Biden’s campaign, to the Progressive Turnout Project and to Stop Republicans, a subsidiary of the Progressive Turnout Project.
  • Merchan presided over the Trump Organization in the tax fraud case that sent Allen Weisselberg to prison.
  • He too was the Judge in the Steve Bannon case for fraud.
  • His daughter Loren serves as President of the Chicago based Authentic Campaigns, a digital firm that does online fundraising, web design and mobile messaging.
  • Authentic Campaigns has history of work for: Senator Corey Booker, Avow (abortion advocacy), Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Governor Katie Hobbs, Governor Tina Kotek, the Immigrant Justice Fund, the National Immigration Law Center, Vote dot Org which uses Taylor Swift, the United Nations Populations Fund, Adam Schiff for Senate, Biden Harris, Governor Kathy Hochul, Congressman Dan Goldman, Senator Mazie Hirono, Hakeem Jeffries and even Ilhan Omar.
  • New York Congressman Dan Goldman also prepped Michael Cohen as a witness for the Trump trial.Goldman also paid more than $157,000 dollars to the political consulting firm of Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, Federal Election Commission disbursement filings.
  • Congressman Dan Goldman, per Breitbart running in New York, is part of a new cohort of left-wing prosecutors who have brought their “woke” left-wing ideas into law enforcement, where their mission is to liberate criminals through “reform,” while persecuting conservatives.

    He was once an obscure former Southern District of New York prosecutor who appeared occasionally on MSNBC, where he helped spread the “Russia collusion” conspiracy theory. Notably, he was taken in by Christopher Steele’s so-called “pee tape.”

    He then found his way to the House Intelligence Committee, where he was employed as Schiff’s committee counsel. In that role, he led the impeachment investigation — such as it was — into President Donald Trump’s supposedly scandalous phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

  • The staff at Authentic Campaigns per the website is made up of 55% Cis-women, 36% Cis men and 10% non-binary and well it seems the entire organization is about pronouns too.
  • In 2020, Kamala Harris paid Authentic Campaign for services along with Perkins Coie (the firm that initiated the Trump dossier) and Act Blue.
  • Loren Merchan has raised so far $93 million just off the Trump ‘hush-money’ case while raising $73.6 million for the Senator Schumer led Democrat Senate PAC.
  • Judge Juan Merchan’s wife, Lara Merchan, worked for 21 years as a Special Assistant in the New York Attorney General’s office, including three years when Letitia James served as AG. James had led a widespread investigation into Trump’s business dealings and last year won a $350 million civil fraud case against the former president.
  • UPDATED: Bannon surrenders to NY prosecutors Letitia James and Alvin Bragg

And then this –>

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent a letter to New York Attorney General Letitia James demanding documents about New York County District Attorney (DANY) Alvin Bragg’s lead prosecutor Matthew Colangelo as the Committee continues its investigation into politicized prosecutions.

Given the perception that the Biden DOJ is assisting in District Attorney Bragg’s prosecution, Chairman Jordan has requested communications and documents related to Colangelo’s previous employment at the New York Attorney General’s Office, where he worked several anti-Trump investigations. The fact that a former senior Biden DOJ official—whose previous employment consisted of leading “a wave of state litigation against Trump administration policies”—is now leading the prosecution of President Biden’s chief political rival only adds to the perception that the Biden DOJ is politicized and weaponized.

Yesterday, May 15, 2024, at 10:00 am ET the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government held a hearing to examine the weaponization of the rule of law.

Excerpts of the letter to New York AG Letitia James:

“Mr. Colangelo’s recent employment history demonstrates his obsession with investigating a person rather than prosecuting a crime. At the New York Attorney General’s Office, Mr. Colangelo—who, for some time, held the title of Chief Counsel for Federal Initiatives—ran investigations into President Trump, leading ‘a wave of state litigation against Trump administration policies.’ On January 20, 2021, the first day of the Biden Administration, Mr. Colangelo began serving as the Acting Associate Attorney General—the number three official at the Justice Department. Upon the confirmation of Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, Mr. Colangelo then served as the Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General. In December 2022, District Attorney Bragg ‘beefed up [his] office’ by hiring Mr. Colangelo to fill the void left by the departure of politicized line prosecutors Mark Pomerantz and Carey Dunne. District Attorney Bragg hired Mr. Colangelo to ‘jump-start’ his office’s investigation of President Trump, reportedly due to Mr. Colangelo’s ‘history of taking on Donald J. Trump and his family business.’ Mr. Colangelo is now a lead prosecutor in President Trump’s trial.

“District Attorney Bragg’s prosecution concerns federal subject matter that is identical to a matter that the Justice Department closed in 2018, raising concerns that a state-level prosecutor is seeking to relitigate an issue on which the federal government previously declined prosecution. In addition, Bragg’s prosecution relies heavily on the testimony of his star witness, Michael Cohen, a convicted felon with a demonstrable bias against President Trump. Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in 2018. In 2019, when he testified before the Democrat-led House Committee on Oversight and Reform in a hearing orchestrated by a longtime Democrat activist to aid their fruitless investigation into President Trump, Cohen lied again—six times. In the years since, Cohen has been vocal about his deeply personal animus toward President Trump.

“District Attorney Bragg’s politicized prosecution of President Trump has serious consequences for federal interests. The fact that a former senior Biden Justice Department official—whose previous employment consisted of leading ‘a wave of state litigation against Trump administration policies’—is now leading the prosecution of President Biden’s chief political rival only adds to the perception that the Biden Justice Department is politicized and weaponized.”

Read the full letter to New York AG Letitia James here.

Read the full letter to AG Garland here.

Read the full letter to Matthew Colangelo here.

Read the full letter to Alvin Bragg here.

Obama’s Radical Relationships are Cloned in the Biden Admin

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Does President Obama’s radical past tell us anything significant about his stance on Israel today? Perhaps more important, do the radical alliances of Obama’s Chicago days raise a warning flag about what the president’s position on Israel may be in 2013, should he safely secure reelection? Many will deny it, but I believe Obama’s radical history speaks volumes about the past, present, and likely future course of his policy on Israel.

The Los Angeles Times has long refused to release a videotape in its possession of a farewell dinner, attended by Obama, for scholar and Palestinian activist Rashid Khalidi. Obama spoke warmly of his friendship for Khalidi at that event. Unfortunately, the continuing mystery of that video tape has obscured the rather remarkable article that the LA Times did publish about the dinner — and about Obama’s broader views on the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. In light of the controversy over Obama’s remarks on Israel in his address yesterday on the Middle East, it is worth revisiting that 2008 article from the LA Times. More here from 2011

***Biden’s NSC Intel Director, Maher Bitar, Is a Former Radical Pro-Palestinian Activst

Meet Maher Bitar and as found on Wikipedia:

Bitar worked at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Malaysia and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jerusalem.[2]

Obama Administration

During the Obama Administration, Bitar worked at the National Security Council (NSC) as Director for Israel and Palestinian Affairs, and was an deputy to Samantha Power during her tenure at the NSC.[6] From 2011 to 2016, Bitar worked as a foreign affairs officer at the Department of State.[7] At the State Department, Bihar developed a close relationship with Jake Sullivan.[6]

In 2017, Bitar joined the House Intelligence Committee as general counsel for the Democrats, where he played a role in the first impeachment of Donald Trump.[6] He was also legal counsel to U.S. Representative Adam Schiff.[8]

Biden Administration

At the beginning of the Biden Administration in January 2021, Bitar was appointed Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Intelligence Programs at the NSC, succeeding Michael Ellis.[9][6] His appointment was praised by Rob Malley and Ziad Asali of the pro-Palestinian group American Task Force on Palestine.[5]

In January 2024, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan moved Bitar into a new role at the NSC as Deputy Assistant to the President and coordinator for intelligence and defense policy.[10][11]

***

It gets more interesting…

Caroline Glick noted that Bitar’s master’s thesis at Oxford University was about the so-called Palestinian “Nakba,” which is how Palestinians now refer to the displacement of 700,000 people due to a war in which Arab states tried to destroy Israel at its founding.

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), the oldest pro-Israel group in the U.S., also warned at the time of Bitar’s appointment that Bitar’s his rise to a position of prominence at the White House meant that “anti-Israel hate occupies the top of the foreign policy establishment and is set to define the foreign policy of the Biden administration.”

Bitar also played a key role in the first impeachment of President Donald Trump, working for Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) on the House Intelligence Committee. Politico described Bitar as Schiff’s “top legal adviser,” and added:

He served as [National Security Council] director for Israeli and Palestinian affairs during the Obama administration and as a deputy to Samantha Power while she was at the NSC. He also worked as a foreign affairs officer at the State Department. Bitar is close with national security adviser Jake Sullivan from their time together at the State Department.

…

Bitar served as a senior member of the House impeachment team during Trump’s first impeachment, alongside Dan Goldman who worked as the impeachment manager’s top lawyer. Goldman called Bitar “a brilliant lawyer” and said his experience on the committee would give the new NSC insight into the changes in the intelligence community over the last four years.

The office of the senior director for intelligence receives sensitive information that comes in from the intelligence agencies, especially if it is in hard copy form, and coordinates covert action activities between the White House and the intelligence community. It’s also where the NSC houses the server that stores the most sensitive classified information. source

Perhaps even worse…

Bitar is joined at the hip with Robert Malley and he is under severe investigation. 

The FBI is investigating whether the Biden administration’s Iran envoy, Rob Malley, moved classified information onto his personal email, where it may have fallen into the hands of a foreign actor, according to a person briefed on the case and a letter from Republican lawmakers.

Investigators are trying to determine if any crimes were committed, according to the person briefed on the case and another person familiar with the matter. But it is not yet clear if the Department of Justice will bring any charges against Malley or what the scope of any charges might be. The people were granted anonymity to discuss a highly sensitive issue. Malley’s security clearance was suspended roughly a year ago, and he later went on full-time leave. As President Joe Biden’s envoy for Iran issues, Malley’s position included trying to revive the nuclear deal the United States and other nations had struck with Tehran. Iran hawks, many of whom view Malley as too soft on Tehran, have used the investigation into him to attack Biden’s policies toward Iran.

Biden Ignoring Hybrid Warfare by China Against the U.S.

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Active Measures and Three Warfares

Irregular warfare is not new. During the Cold War, Russian services like the KGB waged aggressive irregular campaigns against the United States around the globe. Oleg Kalugin, the former head of foreign counterintelligence for the KGB, described aktivnyye meropriyatiya and similar operations as the “heart and soul of Soviet intelligence” that were used to “weaken the United States” and to “drive wedges in the Western community alliance of all sorts.”1

As the Biden administration takes office, U.S. adversaries are utilizing irregular strategies and tactics. Perhaps the quintessential example is Russia. Under President Vladimir Putin, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, and other officials, Russia employs a mix of offensive cyber operations, espionage, covert action, and information and disinformation campaigns to weaken the United States and expand Moscow’s influence. Russia has meddled in U.S. elections and waged a disinformation campaign inside the United States, attempting to inflame social, racial, and political tensions through such issues as Black Lives Matter, Covid-19, the Me Too movement, gun control, white supremacy, abortion, and immigration. Russia has placed malware, such as Triton and BlackEnergy, in U.S. critical infrastructure—threatening power plants, electricity grids, communications networks, and financial systems in the U.S. homeland. Russian agencies have also leveraged shadowy organizations to help conduct information operations and cyberattacks, including the Internet Research Agency (IRA); Kaspersky Lab; networks and online personas with creative names like “Cozy Bear,” “Fancy Bear,” and “Guccifer 2.0”; and private military companies like the Wagner Group.

***.image

 

Additional reading here. 

China’s perspective of national power is broad and includes several elements which the U.S. government considers either irrelevant or in the realm of private industry and non-governmental organizations. China uses soft power and competes in issues the United States often does not even recognize as a part of a wider conflict. Rand’s Andrew Scobell explains, “China’s current perspective on its relationship with the United States is centered on competition that encompasses a wide range of issues embodied in China’s concept of comprehensive national power.”3 Along with the obvious issues of defense and diplomacy, China’s authoritarian government considers technology, cultural, and internal stability issues essential to national power. China sees a future where “war becomes increasingly civilianized,” relying on non-military means to neutralize threats and gain advantages over competitors.4 The U.S. may not recognize some of these issues are part of the competition, but the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses all these means to build advantage.

Chinese manipulation and theft of valuable U.S. science and technology (S&T) is a recognized danger. Chinese intelligence services acquire U.S. and other nations’ scientific research and technology through methods that include: hacking, sending Chinese students and researchers to study and work at western institutions of higher education, and purchasing U.S. companies. William Holsten explains, “There is a massive, coordinated assault taking place on American technology, perhaps the largest, fastest transfer of intellectual property in human history, and much of it is taking place on U.S. soil.”5 In 2017, China passed a legislative framework directing all Chinese to contribute to state security.6 The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) assessed, “It is likely that citizens can be compelled to assist PRC state actors in interference efforts if and when those efforts fall under the broader definition of ‘national intelligence work’ and ‘national intelligence efforts’ as noted in the Law.”7 This assessment in combination with the approximately 350,000 Chinese students attending U.S.’ universities, gives China an incredible capacity to use espionage to procure developing technology.8 A second aspect of the theft of science and technology is the acquisition of U.S. businesses and their subcontracted suppliers by PRC-backed private companies. One example is the acquisition of A123, a U.S. company that develops and supplies lithium-ion batteries.9 A123, after receiving approximately $1 billion from private investors and $100 million in federal government backing, as well as technical advice from General Motors, Motorola, and QualComm, went bankrupt and was subsequently purchased by the Chinese Wanxiang Group Corp for $257 million.10 This acquisition gave China the company’s technological research and manufacturing facilities at an incredibly discounted rate.

Within the U.S. government, multiple agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Security Agency, Federal Trade Commission, work on different aspects of this problem. They observe, detect, and respond individually to the Chinese intellectual property theft. A coordinated U.S. government effort would be more capable of detecting the Chinese malign behavior, creating comprehensive deterrence, and formulating a powerful response. Source

***

As a 2020 Department of Defense publication explained, irregular warfare “favors indirect and asymmetric approaches” by countries “in order to erode an adversary’s power, influence, and will.” It includes numerous tools of statecraft that governments can use to shift the balance of power in their favor: information operations (including psychological operations and propaganda), cyber operations, support to state and nonstate partners, covert action, espionage, and economic coercion.

Many of these tools, such as information and cyber operations, can be used for irregular and conventional campaigns. They are simply a means. In irregular warfare, however, a country designs and uses these tools to undermine its adversaries as part of balance-of-power competition without engaging in set-piece battles. Other government officials and scholars have used different terms—such as political warfare, hybrid warfare, gray zone activity, asymmetric conflict, and the indirect approach—to capture some or all of these activities.

In particular, irregular warfare is distinct from conventional warfare, which has sometimes been referred to as “traditional” or “regular” warfare. Conventional warfare involves the use of direct land, naval, air, and other military capabilities to defeat an adversary’s armed forces on a battlefield; control territory, populations, and forces; or annihilate an enemy’s war-making capacity. Irregular warfare is also different from nuclear warfare, which involves the use—or threat—of nuclear weapons against adversaries. Finally, irregular warfare is distinct from routine foreign policy, which can include diplomatic, humanitarian, intelligence, and other activities that have little or nothing to do with competition against adversaries.

Scretary of State Blinkin Lied About Gaza on TV

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Begin at the 5:39 mark. The Soufan Center has advised the following in part:

• Various plans under discussion between U.S. and regional officials for the governance and security of post-war Gaza contain similar themes and principles.
• Major Arab states appear willing to contribute personnel to an interim post-war security force and governing body if a clear pathway to an independent Palestinian state is established.
• A key hurdle to developing a plan for post-war Gaza is Israel’s insistence on continued military access to the enclave and its resistance to a role for the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA).
• Other key questions include whether a post-war Gaza authority would be authorized by the United Nations and whether U.S. troops would participate.

***

Note, how can Israel complete the full elimination of Hamas by getting out of Gaza? Furthermore, There have been countless discussions with ‘regional’ leaders and Israel about the other side of the conflict in Gaza and options are in fact being discussed. No one wants the Palestinians, at any cost. Why is that exactly? Well let us go a little deeper, finding the historical facts and those facts completely ignored by Blinkin and Biden and his national security staff. Additionally there are 8 factions against Israel, not just Hamas Mr. Blinkin…what about those?

Hamas – Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades

Palestinian Islamic Jihad – Al-Quds Brigades

Popular Resistance Committees – Al-Nasser Salah ad-Din Brigades

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) – Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC) – Jihad Jibril Brigades

Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) – National Resistance Brigades

Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades

Palestinian Mujahideen Movement – Mujahideen Brigades

Newsweek has the details on each. 

***

Studied and published by Reichman University, in part is the following:

The Threat of Global Terrorism

Global terrorism is a strategic threat to the international community and a destabilizing factor in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and even Europe. The Sunni jihadists and the Iranian Shia terrorism are the main generators of present global terrorism.

However, a historical analysis proves that the Palestinian terrorist organizations had a pioneering role in the use of terrorism as a strategic tool in the global arena. The two leading Palestinian organizations, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Fatah, were the backbone of this process of radicalization and violence, trailed by more minor Palestinian factions. No other organization in the world of any ideological color had such a long, wide range and influential terrorist activity between the mid-1960s and the 1990s.

Palestinians’ innovative and sophisticated terrorist methods, used against Israel and the West, were emulated, or copied, by numerous organizations, including Hezbollah and al-Qaeda: suicide bombings, hijacking of civil planes, barometric or liquid bombs on flying planes, attacks on schools, worship places, media outlets. Important leaders and thousands of members of the German Red Army Fraction and Revolutionary Cells, Kurdish PKK, Armenians of ASALA, Argentinians of MONTONEROS, Basques of ETA, etc, were trained in Palestinian camps in Jordan, Lebanon, and South Yemen. Some cooperated operationally with the Palestinians.

The success of the motivated and innovative Palestinian terrorists and the global spread of their attacks couldn’t have been achieved without the Arab state’s sponsorship. Syria, Iraq, Libya, South Yemen, and Iran, after the 1979 Islamist revolution, provided political, financial, logistical, training support and, above all, safe haven, mainly to serve their own strategic regional and international interests. Some states formed their own “Palestinian” groups to be used in the fight for predominance in the Arab world.

Newly published documents since the fall of the Soviet empire demonstrate the critical role of the USSR and its Eastern European satellites in support of Palestinian terrorist organizations and the manipulation of leftist revolutionary groups for the destabilization of Western Europe.

Not only were Palestinian organizations among the first to use terrorism in the international arena on a large scale, unprecedented until then, but they also had an essential role in the spread of international terrorism by the emulation of their new modi operandi and the use of their camps in Jordan, Lebanon, and South Yemen, in many cases with the support of the host states, as haven and platforms for enhancing their military and operational capabilities.

The Palestinian organizations and groups played an essential role in the intricate battles for regional power or as proxies of the radical Arab states, challenging Western interests in the Middle East.

Finally, the fundamental role the intelligence services of the Soviet Union and its allies in Eastern Europe had in enhancing the operational capabilities of these Palestinian organizations and the very sophisticated clandestine methods they used in this subversive endeavor turned not only against Israel but also against Western Europe, was lately exposed.  Read the full summary here. 

What About Those Chinese Illegally Crossing our Borders?

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Let us begin in Maine and the pot farms. Criminal networks with suitcases full of cash are buying up land of various sizes in Maine and elsewhere. In fact in Maine there are an estimated 270  farms and they are using exceptional electric power and water for the growing of the crops. A recent raid in Maine of just 34 properties included DEA, FBI and Homeland Security so no one can claim ignorance. 

How many are here that will soon be illegally exporting sensitive machinery or technology? Well just last month out of the San Francisco FBI field office, an investigation led to the arrest of two Chinese nationals conspiring to illegally export U.S. technology semi-conductors back to China. Are there more doing the same? According to FBI Director Christopher Wray…yes, including now former employees of Google for stealing AI secrets.

Remember those clandestine Chinese police stations around the country?

Now here is a case that did not get any press.

A San Gabriel Valley woman has admitted to defrauding the U.S. Postal Service of more than $150 million.

Lijuan “Angela” Chen, 51, of Walnut, carried out the scheme by using counterfeit postage to ship tens of millions of packages, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

From November 2019 to May 2023, Chen and her accomplice, Chuanhua “Hugh” Hu, 51, owned and operated a package shipping business in the City of Industry.

The company provided shipping services for China-based logistics businesses.

To save money, Hu created fake postage stamps to ship packages by printing duplicate and counterfeit Netstamps, which are stamps purchased online from third-party vendors and printed onto adhesive paper.

In November 2019, authorities became aware of the counterfeit operation and Hu fled the country and moved to China where he continued making counterfeit postage, officials said.

Chen remained in the U.S. to oversee the warehouses that she and Hu were using to ship their packages during the scheme.

In 2020, the pair began using the counterfeit labels to send mail through the United States Postal Service.

They would receive parcels from vendors and apply fake shipping labels before arranging for the items to be transferred to USPS facilities.

“The shipping labels were fraudulent and frequently included, among other red flags, ‘intelligent barcode data’ recycled from previously mailed packages,” according to court documents. “Intelligent barcode data is used in some postage shipping labels to evidence the payment of required postage for the shipped item.”

From January 2020 to May 2023, Chen and Hu mailed over 34 million packages with counterfeit postage and shipping labels, officials said.

This scheme caused more than $150 million in losses to the USPS.

Chen pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of the use of counterfeit postage. She has been in federal custody since her arrest in May 2023.

As part of her plea agreement, Chen also agreed to forfeit funds that authorities seized from her bank accounts, insurance policies, and real estate in several cities including Walnut, Chino, Chino Hills, South El Monte, Diamond Bar, and West Covina.

Hu remains a fugitive believed to be residing in China. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., three counts of passing and possessing counterfeit obligations of the U.S., and one count of forging and counterfeiting postage stamps.

A sentencing hearing for Chen is scheduled for Aug. 2. If convicted, she could face up to five years in federal prison for each count.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IRS Criminal Investigation teams.

***

Those coming across are now part of a propaganda army using Tik Tok and other forms of social media. It was only a few days ago that former National Security Advisor to President Trump, Robert O’Brien was in Houston at Rice University for an event. He was met with the chanting of protestors numbering more than 100. When he looked closely, he said at least half of the protestors were Chinese.

***

Yet another under-reported scandal in birthing hotels. Many are located in California. Reported by the LA Times this past January, in part:

A new documentary streaming on PBS, called “How to Have an American Baby,” wrestles with that question. Filmmaker Leslie Tai embedded with a group of Chinese mothers for more than a decade as they navigated the underground industry, including one family staying at the Rowland Heights townhome complex targeted in the raid.

Tai began her film in 2013, when birth tourism was such an open secret in Southern California‘s suburbs that residents began to complain. Local officials could not work out whether enforcing federal immigration policy should be their job. Los Angeles County officials formed a birth tourism task force in 2015, but after complaints about the practice fell off in 2018, the task force ended, said Alex Garcia, who had helped lead the operation.

Even when the task force was operating, its primary purpose was to prevent improper uses of buildings and property, Garcia told me. But what troubled residents was the idea that foreigners were scamming their way into American citizenship. For months after the raid, I would get voicemails and emails leaving information on the movements of pregnant Asian women, with no guarantee that they were actually Chinese or violating immigration law.

Federal agents serve warrants and question several residents at the Pheasant Ridge Apartment complex in Rowland Heights, California, while investigating alleged 'birth tourism' centers on Tuesday (informational/education use source photo)

Tai’s film tackles this question by insisting on the humanity of the women involved. Her dogged camera work follows mothers into delivery rooms, doctors’ offices and into the hotels themselves. There’s little narration except the women’s interviews, but the point is clear anyway: Few, if any of these women are getting the American dream. Most women in modern China still struggle to exercise basic financial and personal independence. Gender discrimination is illegal on paper, but Chinese laws governing divorce, inheritance and childbirth always favor men.

The birth tourism industry is depicted as a world in which everyone seems to be scamming one another. In China, Tai captures salesmen marketing birth tourism packages arguing about whether to tell customers about price hikes and cost cutting. A maternity hotel operator instructs expectant mothers on what to say at the hospital to get the most time in the hospital bed. A mother who gives birth in America decides to stay and start her own birth hotel, lured by the rumors of easy money.

Even the drivers hired to ferry the women around discuss how to avoid being taken advantage of by the clients with more powerful, wealthy connections.

This is a condition going back to at least 2015, where these women are paid up to $80,000 each to give birth.

***

It is limitless on exactly the nefarious duties assigned to these illegal Chinese operatives….