House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer has subpoenaed Dr Wladimir Lorentz, founder and chief medical officer of the Florida-based business Have My Baby in Miami, as Republicans prepare to examine birth tourism at a hearing scheduled for 1 September. The inquiry reflects renewed Republican efforts to scrutinise services that help foreign nationals give birth in the United States, where children born on US soil generally receive citizenship automatically.

Comer said Lorentz had declined to appear voluntarily, with his lawyer citing a pending criminal investigation by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. Republicans, including task-force chair Brandon Gill, argue the practice raises immigration and national-security concerns, particularly involving visitors from China and Russia; the hearing is also expected to hear from immigration researcher Dr Steve Camarota, while another maternity-services doctor has been invited. The company’s website and social-media accounts appeared unavailable, though an associated YouTube account remained online.