Anchor Babies? No Mas!

Debate Over Banning Citizenship For Immigrant Babies

As the debate continues to rage over how to handle the approximately 11 million illegal immigrants within the U.S., one group has a suggestion: take away the citizenship of their infants. The Birmingham News reports that the Alabama Federation of Republican Women is distributing dolls called "The $118 Billion Anchor Baby" to lawmakers and newspapers as a way of protesting their findings that about $118 billion in government services go to these families every year. They argue that those funds cut into health-care funding and services for Americans.

Under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, any baby born on U.S. soil is automatically a citizen. The AFRW calls the benefits given to these "anchor babies" an "irresistible lure" to illegal families, prompting many to sneak into the country. An estimated 350,000 babies are born to illegal immigrant parents each year; the group is calling for a limit to this citizenship rule to discourage pregnant immigrants from coming to the U.S.

To change the amendment, a bill would have to pass by a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate, then be presented to the states for approval.

Serious immigration reform must include eliminating the anchor baby provision. It's a big part of the reason we can't send home 12 million illegal aliens.