The island's public hospital delivers a steady number of non-resident newborns, recently collected data reveals. A majority of the babies are born to South Korean visitors.

The pejorative term "anchor baby" has been used to describe the phenomenon, wherein pregnant mothers in their last trimester travel to a desired destination to deliver their child, who at birth is eligible for that country's citizenship.

Last fiscal year, Guam Memorial Hospital delivered 116 babies to non-U.S. mothers, 77 of whom were from South Korea.

So far in fiscal 2017, the number of infants born to non-U.S. mothers is 77, of whom 54 were born to travelers from Korea.

The numbers could generally correlate to the growing number of Korean tourist arrivals, but even the number of births by Japanese nationals is much, much lower. For instance, last fiscal year there was only one delivery from a Japanese national; that number is again just one so far this year.

Different reasons for delivering in Guam

James Gillan, director of the Department of Public Health and Social Services, said that where the expecting mothers come from generally determines their purpose for birthing in Guam, and what they will do after.

"I think typically what you'll find is that mothers coming from Korea give birth here and obtain a Social Security number and a passport for their child – and then return to Korea," Gillan said. "They're thinking that 20 or 30 years later, their child can return to the U.S. and go to school, or what have you.

"I think typically what you'll find is that mothers coming from Korea give birth here and obtain a Social Security number and a passport for their child. ... They're thinking that 20 or 30 years later, their child can return to the U.S. and go to school." – James Gillan, director, Department of Public Health and Social Services

"With mothers from FAS (Freely Associated States), the desire is that their child will qualify for welfare programs and other benefits that they don't have access to."

According to the hospital's figures, only seven babies were born to FAS citizens.

Gillan added that his primary concern was the safety of travelling mothers at such late stages in their pregnancies.

'If you're here, we'll take of you'

Hospital Chief Executive PeterJohn Camacho said GMH's mandate to serve everyone extends to tourists and other non-resident mothers just as well as Guam residents.

"We don't ask whether they're a tourist or not. Our everyday mission is: If you're here, we'll take care of you," Camacho said.

Camacho said the hospital's administration hasn't done extensive research regarding the cost of delivering these babies.

'Birth tourism' an issue in CNMI

The phenomenon has also been described as "birth tourism," and is a common issue in the CNMI.

In fact, earlier this month, Saipan businessman Richard Peng was sentenced to six months in federal prison for a birth tourism scheme.

In that case, Peng was charged with one count of harboring illegal aliens at a farm that was repurposed to house pregnant Chinese women. He is also said to have advertised the farm on a Chinese website, and included his contact number for reference.