By A Florida doctor whose company marketed U.S. maternity services to foreign nationals repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment Tuesday rather than answer questions from House lawmakers investigating the birth-tourism industry.
Dr. Wladimir Lorentz, founder of South Florida-based Have My Baby in Miami, appeared under subpoena before the House Oversight Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses during a hearing titled “Protecting American Citizenship: Confronting Birth Tourism.”
I asked the founder of “Have My Baby in Miami” about his birth tourism business.
He pleaded the Fifth.
Again. And again. And again. pic.twitter.com/Vnr4PaY6em
— Congressman Brandon Gill (@RepBrandonGill) September 1, 2026
Lorentz had previously declined to appear voluntarily, citing advice from his attorney amid a pending criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
In a prepared statement, Lorentz told lawmakers: “On the advice of counsel, I will respectfully decline to answer any questions touching the subject matter of a pending federal investigation on the grounds that a truthful answer may tend to incriminate me, and I invoke my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
He then refused to answer a series of questions from task force chairman Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, including whether his company helped foreign nationals enter the United States for the purpose of giving birth and securing U.S. citizenship for their children.
Have My Baby in Miami, operated through Miami Medical Concierge Services LLC, advertised maternity packages for expectant mothers traveling from abroad. Its services included housing, medical care and assistance arranging delivery in the United States.
Lorentz has previously said the company served more than 2,000 families. Its website and social-media accounts were removed or substantially altered after congressional investigators contacted him in May.
Birth tourism generally refers to foreign nationals traveling to the United States primarily to give birth so their children receive U.S. citizenship under the prevailing interpretation of the 14th Amendment.
Federal rules already restrict the practice in some circumstances. The State Department has said a B-2 visitor visa may not be issued when a consular officer determines that an applicant’s primary purpose for traveling to the United States is to give birth in order to obtain U.S. citizenship for the child.
Gill and other Republicans argued during Tuesday’s hearing that the industry exploits the immigration system, diminishes the meaning of citizenship and can create national-security concerns, particularly when clients come from adversarial countries such as China and Russia.
Gill cited estimates that between 20,000 and 26,000 births annually in the United States involve birth tourism.
The committee previously sought documents from Lorentz as well as Dr. Julio César Novoa of International Maternity Services, another company invited to testify. Dr. Steven A. Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, also testified.
The hearing comes as President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans continue challenging the longstanding interpretation of birthright citizenship, while Democrats have largely defended the view that the 14th Amendment grants citizenship to nearly everyone born on U.S. soil.
Lorentz was eventually dismissed after lawmakers determined he would continue invoking his Fifth Amendment rights rather than answer questions.
Committee members said the investigation into the birth-tourism industry would continue and raised the possibility of additional referrals to federal law-enforcement authorities.
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