In this episode, Congressman Tom Tiffany discusses the alarming immigration policy regarding the Mariana Islands, the implications of birthright citizenship, and the growing awareness among Congress members about these issues. He highlights the significant increase in births to Chinese nationals in the islands and the potential national security concerns. The discussion also touches on the political landscape surrounding immigration reform, the role of birth tourism, and the need for public engagement in legislative processes. It's a Numbers Game with Ryan Girdusky is part of the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Podcast Network. For more visit natpop.newsletter.com
Hello, and welcome back to this week's episode of A Numbers Game with Riyan Gerdoski. I appreciate everyone for listening in and checking it out. As always, By the way, I would like to ask you to sign up for my national popular newsletter in that popnewsletter dot com to get a third a free subscription for all the data I am going to break down on this very special episode. So on Monday, Trump was sworn in as the forty seventh President of the United States. I'm sure you've heard about it, coming the first president since Grover Cleveland to serve two non consecutive terms. Immediately after being sworn in, he signed a flory of executive orders and executive actions on everything from energy policy to DEI to immigration. He kind of flooded the finish line with enough stuff so that the media, Democrats, and the liberal nonprofits having to play ketchup. This is enormously important because you know, at some points, as there's so many executive orders coming at Democrats that they have to pick and choose which ones are they going to fight. I think that the most important one and the one that they are choosing to fight, and I guess quote the most quote unquote controversial executive order was on immigration to end birthrights citizenship for illegal immigrants. The executive order states, and it's important that you understand the language of the executive order. The executive order states, the Fourteenth Amendment has always excluded from birthright citizenship persons who were born in the United States but not quote subject to the jurisdiction thereof. Consistent with this understanding, the Congress has further specified legislation that a person born in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, is a national and citizen of the United States, as Section eight fourteen oh one, generally nearing the Fourteenth Amendment. Among the categories of individuals born in the United States and not subject to the jurisdiction thereof of the village of the United States. Citizenship does not automatically extend to the person born in the United States when one, that person's mother was unlawfully present in the country and the father was not a citizen or a lawful permanent resident at the time of the person's birth, or two, when the person's mother's presence of the United States at the time of said person's birth was lawful but temporary. Such as not limited to visiting the United States under a visa waiver program or student visa or tourist visa. That says that not only does an illegal alien someone who is not lawfully present in the country does not automatically get birthright citizenship, but student visas and tourist visas do not get birthright citizenship. This is critically important because an entire industry has been created overseas all over the world to sit there and to get citizenship for non citizens. It is a multi billion dollar industry, as I'll describe further. Congressman Babin from Texas's thirty six congressional district has already tried to codify the executive order, and he's submitted a bill. It's unlikely to pass, but it would be very important if it came to a vote and all the Republicans and hopefully a few Democrats support it. Now, several Democratic attorney generals have already sued the term administration over the executive Order. They said that filing it is wrong because of denied citizenship, and in the court case. In the court case submitted by the State of Illinois, it says that it's wrong in part because just too many children are born to illegal or from illegal alien parents, and that would be problematic. In twenty twenty two, this is what the court, this is the Democratic defense for birthright citizenship. This is what it says. Nationally, in twenty twenty two alone, they were approximately two hundred and fifty five thousand births of citizen children to non citizen mothers without lawful status quote undocumented, and approximately one hundred and fifty three thousand births to two undocumented parents. My guess is the one hundred thousand difference between one hundred and two thousand difference between having just an undocumented mother and having undocumented two parents is that the one hundred thousand were coming in alone and have a husband back in another nation, that they were waiting for them for the baby born. Because once you're born, you get citizenship. You can then apply for a green card for your relatives. That is why it is an anchor baby. It is literally anchoring the entire family to the United States. But I want to think about the number for a second. This is the data point I want my listeners to remember. Two hundred and fifty five thousand births from non citizen mothers is one in thirteen seven point five percent. For all my math nerds out there, one in thirteen children born in the United States have an illegal alien parent. That is getting a new Miami every two years. So five new miamis full of children to illegal alien parents every single decade. They once again will get the right to vote when they turn eighteen years old. They will get the right to sit there and five for different political policies. They will get the right of American welfare state. Everything from education and hospitalization to the prison system to the roads. I mean everything that the American welfare system pays for it. They will be entitled to a new Miami every two years. Now, this has become an entire cottage industry. As I said, it's called birth tourism. People there are overseas, there are agencies, and there are human smugglers who receive thousands, if not tens of thousands, upwards of fifty thousand dollars per woman to smuggle them in and nine months pregnant, get them into a hospital and they sure they have a baby. There's high destination cities for this New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, and the countries that are primarily not the only ones doing this, But the big countries where this is becoming cottage industry is Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, Turkey, South Korea, and China. China is a very big one. As of twenty fifteen, women in China were paying travel agencies and human smugglers fifty thousand dollars to create a package where they we get a hotel, a flight, they get out tourist visa and get to the United States in one way or another in order to have a baby here and get citizenship. Now think about that there, and that year twenty fifteen there were ten thousand Chinese nationals who gave birth And do the math. Ten thousand, fifty thousand dollars a person is a half a billion dollars from one country in one year. It's not bad scheddar when you think about it. We hope that this is not for any nefarious reasons. We all that these are just people sitting there and saying, hey, look those dumb Americans. They have a giant loophole in their immigration system that we can take advantage of and ultimately get into the US and get citizenship. We hope. We really don't know there is a specially large loophole in a territory called the North Mariana Islands, which is about seven thousand miles away from the for lower forty eight of the United States, and it's about three thousand miles away from mainland China, so it's squarely basically squarely in the Middle Pacific. It was a very important area during World War Two for any history bus out there, but it's become an important place for birth tourism in the United States state because it's a territory of the United States, every child born on the island is automatically an American citizen, right and the first child born in twenty twenty five, the child that made the newspapers, as you know, bringing in the new Year of just a few weeks ago, was from a thirty year old tourist from Shanghai, China. Is one of the thousands of children from Maine in China who are born on the island in the last decade. That is because in two thousand and nine, President Obama waived the visa requirement for Chinese nationals and Russian nationals to come to the island, so they can come. In twenty nineteen, it was revoked for Russia, but not for China. So for a decade, Russians and Chinese were able to come to the North America Islands without a visa, completely unrestricted and have a child there. The number of children from China being born on the island increased from less than ten per year to over six hundred. Ninety five percent of all foreign born children on the island are Chinese nationals. The mothers or Chinese nationals, and there's no visa requirement, there's no flagging, there's one hospital has very much overwhelmed the system. There are now more Chinese nationals having children on the islands, and there are natives from the North Maria on the islands. I don't know what they're called North Marianna's or Mary. I don't know, I doe, but whatever whatever that is, there are more Chinese nationals than there are North marin arans. I simply I'm saying marin aarosauce. It's very problematic, but whatever that is, they are having more babies Chinese nationals. Has become so bad that certain members of Congress have sat there and waived this towards the Biden administration of the last four years to no avail. President Trump's executive order closes that loophole. President Trump single handedly is working to sit there and try and close that loophole along with all the others, through ending birth tourism and birthright citizenship for illegal aliens, non citizens via the holders tours. It's critical. It's critical to national security, it's critical to who we are as a country. It's critical to the idea. You fundamentally believe American citizenship is important and it is the greatest benefit you could have in this world. And that is how it's being treated by the cartels. That is how it should be treated by our government. Unfortunately, especially since Barack Obama was president in two thousand and nine, it is not. Obviously, birth tourism is a huge issue for the entire country. It is especially huge issue for the North Mariana Islands. And luckily, our guest this week has been one of the few members of Congress to be raising this issue time and time again. We're going to talk to Congressman Tom Tiffany Wisconsin next. He's been in Congrest twenty since twenty twenty, and he's been one of the long voices in the wood. Though. Let's get the Congress and Tom Tiffany about the situation there about birth tourism, about Trump's executive order. Will be right back after these messages. My guest this week is Congressman Tom Tiffany, who represents the Wisconsin seventh congressional district since twenty twenty. He's been one of the few congressmen really raising the issue over the last few years. So thank you for being non congress from Tiffany. Ryan, it's good to join you. So, the policy of opening up the North Mariana Islands to the Chinese without a visa seems to be strange because it's in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It's not like right next to China. They don't have a ton of I guess Chinese nationals who had lived there before we had taken it over, and they need to, you know, go there to see family members. It's a very strange policy, and I've already done a little bit of background from my audience. But tell me, is it just Chinese nationals who are moving there who just want an American citizenship or are Has any research been done on whether or not these are Chinese politicians, political families, military and military families is any of that known, whether or not they're getting American citizenship.
Yeah, this is really an unusual situation, but it highlights, you know, the many facets of our immigration system here in America. But this was set up as an Obama policy from two thousand and nine where they said you don't have to get a visa if you're a Chinese national or you're a Russian national to be able to come on to the Marianna Islands. And I think it was twenty nineteen when the loophole for the Russians was closed, not for the Chinese. In answer to your question, do we know if there's military members or others. I don't know the answer to that, and I don't know if the State Department has.
Really looked seriously into it. So I'm not sure it's so odd that Obama picked Russia and China, considering he was so hawkish on especially Russia, a little bit of China. But the warning signs for both countries are there. It's not Mongolia, it's not a country we never talk about.
That's right, that's right. The national security concern should be off the charts. Ryan when you think about okay, here it comes these Chinese nationals. They don't need a visa. They go to the Mariana Islands, and all of a sudden you have hundreds of babies being more in the native population, and yet they don't do anything to stop. It's really it's really odd, you know.
I understand the number one from ten to six hundred over the course of a few years, ten China and he's nationally being born on the island to over six hundred. You've said during committee hearings, it's larger than the number of natives being born on the island. Let's say so a woman from China, as was the case, the first baby born in twenty twenty five was born was a Chinese national from Shanghai, thirty yeld Chinese national Shanghai. The baby gets gets citizenship obviously because she's having a baby in the American territory. Can then the baby and her moved to American mainland with no issues whatsoever.
You know, I don't know the answer to that question, but I'm sure that under how the Biden administration has interpreted immigration policy, I believe the answer to that is yes. Now, this is what President Trump is going to put a stop to. Is the birthright citizenship, and this is one of the best examples of it, where this child that was born first one of twenty twenty five, if this would have been in place, this child would no longer have citizenship in America.
Right well, yeah, yeah, that would be extremely important to bring close to this loophole. When you and you've been in office since twenty twenty, when you brought this up to the Biden administration officials, what did they say? They ignored us? Really they yeah, they ignored us and just I mean there really was no response. They were just like, we can do this and go away. I mean that's basically what they did. I mean, it's like all other facets of immigration policy. They just swept it under the rug and said, yeah, we could do this. I mean we heard may Orcus say it so many times. There's not a problem at the porter. Don't worry, We've got it under control. I mean, they simply ignored us. What did your I mean, you have been unique in the Congress for raising awareness on this issue repeatedly. What have your do your Republican colleagues? Are they aware considering how hawkish we have become on China and we how away we are, especially since I don't know a little thing called COVID about China and how China acts and reacts towards things. Are your Republican colleagues aware of this, because I didn't know about this until I listened to your committee hearings, and I know that committee hearings aren't you know, don't have the same audience audiences like the Super Bowl does, so are they aware? Yeah?
Virtually no one knew about this before we brought it up a few years ago. But we are driving some awareness because, as you've said, Ryan, we brought it up a few times in different contexts on the Judiciary Committee. And now with the issue of birthright citizenship being front and center, and you can bet it's going to stay front and center. This issue, the example of the Mariana Islands, is going to get much much more attention, and I think far more members of Congress are now going to know. Okay, this is one of the examples of why birthright citizen Ghyptian be happening. You're listening to it's a numbers game with Ryan Gerdusky. We'll be right back after this message. What have the natives of this island? Because island only has one hospital and I believe one airport. This is a perfect microcosm of the country as a whole where you've seen mass immigration overloading the infrastructure of a single place, especially a small place that I've read some articles in some local newspapers, But have the I mean, there's a delegate obviously for the North Marion Islands. Have they been concerned at all about the overwhelming number of people coming. It might be part of the reason you haven't heard much about it because the delegate was just changed in the last election. The previous one was a Democrat and he defended it. Now it is a Republican and she is saying, yes, there are real concerns here and we need to do something about it. So the delegate was unhelpful in regards to this prior to Jane. Now there is a your one of your colleagues, has colleagues from Texas, has offered a bill to make the end of birthright citizenship in legislation for illegal immigrants and trying to get some real hard legislation regardless of what the Supreme Court rules. I guess Supreme Court rules against Trump doesn't really matter. Trying to get this in law so that way, if the next president comes and waves, the next Democratic president comes and waives the birthright citizenship rule that Trump's trying to put in, there will actually be some teeth to it.
What is the reaction from the member your colleagues about Trump's executive order, Because when it comes to immigration, unlike some other issues, Republicans really run the gamut on policy. You have some very very very pro amnesty Republicans and some other Republicans who want to lock down the border.
We're going to find out because Representative Babin just to introduce that as we're speaking here, Ryan, he just introduced it this morning. I was at the press conference, gave presentation, and so we are trying to put it in statuting. What you're referencing. Okay, this lasts for four years to the Trump administration. If we want this to be enduring, we need to get it in statute, and hopefully we are going to be able to do that. But I think this is going to be challenging the courts, and I think the left is taking a real risk here because when you read the language, and I don't know if you have or not, Brian, if you go back and look at the text from eighteen sixty eight when this was passed as a constitutional amendment. It was clearly a post slavery constitutional amendment that was put in place, and they were very clear in the language that they said, this does not apply to foreigners. That's the term they're used at the time. And I don't know how you could have a more apt description of a foreigner than somebody that's coming from that's a citizen outside the uni United States of America. And I think this Supreme Court, unless you know, Roberts goes all crazy on this, I don't see how the Supreme Court could rule any other way than that birthright citizenship is a figment of the left's imagination and the progressive courts of the last five decades.
Well, I mean, it's not even just foreigners. Native Americans didn't qualify, and that is in the original interpretation of the fourteen Amendment. But then again, the fourteenth Amendment has become this, you know, it's become this ever loving gobstopper from Charlie and the chocolate factor for the left of these are every kind of policy want. Well, it's just it's in the fourteen Amendment. You just have to keep looking it up until you find it. The interesting thing about the executive but for the executive order, is that I'm read in twenty twenty twenty to fifteen, China alone, the industry of birth tourism in just was a half a billion dollar a year industry among the world. And that was in twenty fifteen. The whole world, especially big countries that sent a lot of nine month pregnant women to the United States, Turkey, Brazil, Russia, China, obviously Mexico, it must be a multi billion dollar semi human smuggling enterprise. And once again we don't know. I mean, El Chapo's children were born in the United States. I believe I might be just missaying on it. I'm pretty sure that they American citizenship has been offered to definitely the children of foreign leaders or terrorist organization people were working in terrorist organizations. It's amazing that it's taken to this point for anyone to sit there and uh and and waive and have and have a moment of clarity for you know, for the Trump administration about this, and that they're still pushback at least on a national security aspect, which is one one of the few areas that there's some decent bipartisanship.
Do you think Ryan that in highlights the how things have to get so bad sometimes in order for there to be reborn. And I think that's what's happened here. And people are finding out the many facets of illegal immigration. And it took a president as strong as Donald Trump is committed as Donald Trump to take action on something like this. Everybody would run in fear. Donald Trump does not run in fear from the left. I mean, he's proven that since he came down the escalator back in twenty fifteen. And it's taken somebody like him to take on these issues that have been turned on their head over the decades. As we talk about this was passed in eighteen sixty eight. It did not contemplate having people claiming birthright citizenship just because you had a child in America. But that's how it's been turned on its head here in the twentieth century, and it's finally gotten so bad that people are willing to take action. I would make one other point here. I said four years ago. I think it was in a judiciary hearing that the what has been going on through the Biden years is the largest human trafficking operation since slavery, and I was roundly chastised for saying that, wouldn't you agree that that's the truth?
One? I think that I think that what is coming into question really is that the Left wants us to rethink the purpose of nationhood, Like why are we a country? What makes the country if we're just an idea? Right, If America is just an idea, like the left likes us that they're in, say, well, we can just email that idea around the world and then they could just make it their own country. No, we are an immensely prosperous place and immensely safe place if you look at like the world as large, because of the people who live here, and and the right of citizenship is the big the right to be an American citizen is the biggest privilege on this earth in my opinion. So to give it away so easily and to and to allow human traffickers, as you said, to just you know, create a multi billion dollar industry out of it, a black you know, black market industry, and to say nothing of it because it helps, I think feed the left. Bottom line on challenging the idea of nationhood is just so damning in my opinion, and so corrosive to their thought process.
Yeah, so I think your characterization is accurate. That I mean, they're they're giving away citizenship cheaply.
Right.
It's it's like a it's like penny candy. And the Mariana Islands are a really good example of you know, Okay, we're just going to give these away. We're going to make a visa change administratively in two thousand and nine. And oh, this is one of the ramifications. Okay, no problem, Chinese nationals are coming in. Oh, the Chinese communist government might be our adversary. Huh, we really don't care. And if you want to know who understands the value of American citizenship, it's those cartels, right, Yeah, when they charged five ten thousand, we've heard as high as fifty thousand dollars to some Chinese nationals coming across the Mexican border that they charge them. They know how much it's worth, don't they.
Right? And you know, Congress, when I'm from New York City, my whole life. At the Roosevelt Hotel where they were having all the migrants, there was a ward for pregnant women. There was a huge thing. There was an increase in I read this from the CDC a few like a month or two ago. There was a fifty percent increase in the number of Venezuelan nationals having children in America from twenty twenty three to twenty twenty four. When President Biden was flown buying them in on the one app they had this huge amount because they said, there's that this is our chance. It is oftentimes and maybe I'm maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think I am. It is oftentimes the fact that foreign nationals and foreign cartels understand the laws better than Americans do. And I would honestly venture to be better than some members of Congress do. The President company excluded Congress on Tiffany.
No, No, I wouldn't be surprised. El Chapo's kids who are probably American citizens while.
We were talking. They were born in Los Angeles and then they returned to Mexico. So yes, they got the citizenship visa, the birthright citizenship for non citizens like and people know status here.
El el Choppol may be a really bad guide, but he ain't dumb.
Is he right? And according to the law that we have on the books, think like this to the listeners. El Chapo's children were born in Los Angeles, got American citizenship. They had no visa status to be here. They can if he ever gets out of jail, spot for him for citizenship and he can never be deported. I just but like, think about how ludicrous that whole in that system is. What is the defense from the left? Is it just that I think you said beforehand that Trump was the only willing to take this on the fear of being called a racist in America amongst Republicans is palpable or was previous to Donald Trump. I think that that fear is gone because they accused of being everything under the sun for ten years. Now do you what is the defense for the left? I mean, in the court case, in the court documents that this, I think it was Illinois put out the one of the lawsuits. They said, you can't do this because there's just too many children being born to non citizens. It's one in thirteen, two hundred and fifty thousand a year. On the other side of the aisle, do you think there's any of your Democratic colleagues who see this as problematic?
I think you see, you know how many people voted for voted for the Lake and Riley Act. There's probably about fifty something like that that voted for the Lake and Riley Act. On the Democrat side, they at least understand that, they at least understand there's political peril right, that their next election has become tougher if they don't vote. They understand at a minimum that. So I think there are some people that they on the Democrat side, but man, most of them this is this is a plank. This is a plank in their.
Party platform.
Yeah, and the party platform. I mean, this is a plank in the platform. Much like transgenderism and other stuff like that. It is a plank in the platform at this point, and if you don't adhere to it, we are going to come and get you. And I hope, honestly, for the sake of the country, I wish they would change their ways. But for the sake of US Republicans winning elections, don't change your We'll go that way. And by the way, all people got to watch is you saw the new ranking member on Judiciary, Jamie Raskin. I mean, you couldn't get anybody more radical than Jamie Raskin to chair the Judiciary Committee. Where they forced Jerry Nadler out, And I mean that's a clear message that they are going to stay the course on this issue, that people should come in worry racing borders. They believe in globalism. I mean, that's who they are at this point.
Well, I mean it's really ironic when you say Nadler as almost like a centrist, thoughtful person. That shows how far Congress has really moved. What can people do? What can constituents do to raise awareness about this? There is a bill, what's the name of the bill they can call their congressman is that they're in co sponsored. It would be great if they had one hundred percent of the Republican members and there's thirteen Democrats in Republican seats. They talked to my first episode podcast that what could they do to kind of galvanize Congress to really start moving on this issue.
It's the Birthright Citizenship Act. So yes, they should contact their congressional representatives say tell them, hey, you need to sign on to this. But more broadly, we're going to probably take up a version of HR two, which you remember from last session, best Secure the Border bill that ever passed through a House of Congress. Died in the Senate. We're gonna have a version of that. People have to stay after us. As you said earlier, there's people that get a little squeamish on this issue. You want me to Yeah, that's up to you. They need to stay after in regard to this. You know, November fifth, we elected Donald Trump and all the rest. We have majorities then majorities, but people have to stay after us. The fight is not over, and you got to stay after us Republicans to follow through on what you expected us to do when you voted on November fifth.
Now, Congressman, you have been a leader on this issue. Where can people go to follow your information? Get I guess newsletters from you, emails from you guys, or just follow you on social media. They want to keep hearing about this issue, and honestly any border security issue, which you've been extremely good on.
Yeah, just go to at Rep. Tiffany. I got a great communications team that's always putting out good stuff, as you see, And just go to at Rep. Tiffany t I F F A N Y and you'll find us there. By the way, we also put out a weekly newsletter and it is one of the best that's out here in Congress. It's called the Tiffany Telegram, comes out every Friday in your email inbox. It's hard hitting, it's substantive. We don't just talk about Okay, it's maple syrup season in northern Wisconsin.
Though, that's maple syrup season Wisconsin. I don't know, is that a real thing.
No, we had twenty five below. We got to get Okay, we're a few months now, we're a few months away from that, Ryan, But we really do put substantive stuff in that Tiffany Telegram. There you go for that, Go to my congressional website and you'll see the sign up on Great.
Thank you for leading on this issue, think for talking about this issue, and thank you for being on this podcast. Great to join you, Ryan, Thank you for listening this weekend. Every week, you can check out my podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Please like and subscribe and tune in next week.