California couple under abuse probe kept commissioning surrogates as 26+ babies seized across four states
After a July 2025 raid that removed 21 children from their Arcadia, California, home, Guojun Xuan and Silvia Zhang obtained at least five additional surrogate‑born infants in other states, bringing the total to at least 26 children now the subject of active custody disputes. The couple has sued some surrogates as part of efforts to regain custody.
📌 Key Facts
- In July 2025, law enforcement raided the couple's Arcadia, California, home and removed 21 children.
- The couple under investigation are Guojun Xuan and Silvia Zhang.
- After the July raid, Xuan and Zhang obtained at least five additional surrogate‑born infants in other states.
- Those additional infants plus the children removed in Arcadia bring the couple's known total involved to at least 26 children spanning multiple states.
- Xuan and Zhang have sued some surrogates as part of efforts to regain custody, adding civil litigation to ongoing abuse and dependency proceedings.
- All of the children connected to the case — not just those originally seized in California — are now the subject of active custody battles.
📊 Relevant Data
From 2014 to 2020, the number of international intended parents using U.S. surrogacy quadrupled, with a significant portion from China due to the ban on commercial surrogacy in China and the pursuit of U.S. birthright citizenship.
The New Face of Birth Tourism: Chinese Nationals, American Surrogates, and Birthright Citizenship — The Heritage Foundation
International intended parents in U.S. surrogacy from 2014-2020 were more likely to be male (41.3% vs. 19.6% domestic), older than 42 years (33.9% vs. 26.2%), and identify as Asian (60.9% vs. 7.1% domestic), reflecting demographic patterns in surrogacy usage.
International gestational surrogacy in the United States, 2014–2020 — Fertility and Sterility
Children killed by surrogate parents accounted for 29% of fatal child abuse cases, compared to 60% by biological parents, but surrogate parents showed higher rates of certain abuse types when adjusted for population.
Comparing fatal child abuse involving biological and surrogate parents — PubMed
In U.S. surrogacy, surrogates are predominantly Caucasian (around 70%), while intended parents are increasingly international, with 41.7% from China among international cases, indicating a racial disparity in roles.
China's ban on commercial surrogacy, lifted one-child policy in 2016, and declining birth rates have driven wealthy Chinese to U.S. surrogacy for building large families and securing U.S. citizenship, with costs up to $200,000 per child.
Chinese Nationals, American Surrogates, and Birthright Citizenship — Congress.gov
📰 Source Timeline (2)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Confirms that after a July 2025 raid that removed 21 children from their Arcadia home, Guojun Xuan and Silvia Zhang obtained at least five additional surrogate-born infants in other states.
- Details that the couple is now suing some surrogates as part of their effort to regain custody of all children, adding a new layer of civil litigation to the ongoing abuse and dependency proceedings.
- Emphasizes that all of the children are now the subject of active custody fights, not just those originally seized in California.