Argentine officials have blamed organized “mafias” for promoting birth tourism to Russian mothers-to-be after several pregnant women were temporarily prevented from entering the country. Since the invasion of Ukraine, thousands of Russian women have come to Argentina looking to get their children citizenship. Russians can travel to Argentina without a visa, where all newborns are granted citizenship automatically, making it an attractive destination for so-called birth tourism. Last Friday, six pregnant Russian women said that they were being held at the border in Ezeiza airport, unable to enter the country after immigration officials accused them of being “fake tourists”. “It’s a cruel, inhumane, degrading treatment to pregnant women who are traveling by themselves,” he said, adding that women who had come with their partners were not stopped at the airport.

Source: Bueno Aires Herald February 13, 2023 21:19 UTC