Americans watching Tuesday’s congressional hearing on birth tourism got quite a performance.
Rep. Brandon Gill asked Dr. Wladimir Lorentz, founder of “Have My Baby in Miami,” how many babies his business had helped deliver to foreign nationals in the United States.
Lorentz invoked the Fifth Amendment.
Gill asked whether his company had helped members of the Chinese Communist Party obtain American citizenship for their children.
The Fifth.
He asked about MS-13 and other narco-terrorist organizations.
The Fifth.
Finally, Gill asked whether Lorentz planned to answer every question that way.
Yes.
And then he was excused.
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
So here’s a question somebody in Washington ought to answer: Where are the charges?
Because Have My Baby in Miami wasn’t exactly a secret. The business operated openly for years. It had a website. It advertised its services. Lorentz publicly discussed his business with The Washington Post and said he had assisted thousands of families.
Congress didn’t uncover some clandestine operation hidden in the shadows. The House Oversight Committee has had the company in its sights for months and has collected its own promotional materials describing services for foreign nationals coming to America to give birth.
And federal prosecutors are already investigating. Lorentz’s own attorney acknowledged a pending criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. Lorentz cited that investigation Tuesday while refusing to answer questions. Yet as of Tuesday, there is no public indication that Lorentz has been arrested, indicted or charged with a crime in connection with the operation.
That’s what Americans deserve an explanation for.
To be clear, helping a foreign woman give birth in the United States isn’t automatically a federal crime. The potential criminal issue identified by Congress involves things such as visa fraud — including whether someone deliberately misrepresented the purpose of a trip to obtain entry into the country.
Fine. Investigate it. Prove it. And if the evidence supports criminal charges, prosecute it.
But what exactly was accomplished Tuesday?
Congress already had the documents. The website and its marketing already existed. Federal investigators are already investigating. Lorentz’s lawyers had already made clear that he intended to invoke his constitutional right against self-incrimination. So Congress subpoenaed him, put him beneath the television lights, asked questions everyone knew he wasn’t going to answer, produced a viral video of him repeatedly taking the Fifth — and sent him on his way.
Americans have seen this movie too many times.
Subpoena. Hearing. Outrage. Viral clip. Press release. Then what?
Rep. Gill has previously said the goal of his investigation is a criminal referral to the Justice Department. Then make the referral. And if federal prosecutors already have enough evidence to bring a case, bring it. If they don’t, tell the American people what remains to be established. And if Congress has discovered that existing federal law simply doesn’t prohibit much of what Americans are seeing, then stop holding hearings about how outrageous it is and change the law.
Because this is bigger than one man or one Miami business. It’s about deterrence.
What message does America send to the next entrepreneur contemplating a business built around exploiting American birthright citizenship?
That Congress might invite him to Washington someday? That a congressman might scold him? That his refusal to answer questions might rack up a few million views on X?
That’s not deterrence.
Arrests deter. Prosecutions deter. Convictions deter. Meaningful immigration enforcement deters. Laws with consequences deter.
Congressional theater doesn’t.
The website existed. The business operated openly. Congress has been investigating. Federal prosecutors are investigating.
And after all of that, Americans were treated Tuesday to another hearing where the witness said virtually nothing and walked out the door.
Enough.
The American people don’t need another dog-and-pony show. They need to know whether anybody is actually going to enforce the law.
