Are 'Anchor Babies' Sinking the American Economy?
Recently, the 14th Amendment has been evoked to achieve a different effect. The emphasis has dramatically shifted away from rehabilitating ex-slaves and their disenfranchised offspring. No one questions the citizenship of any citizen's children, regardless of race or gender. Everyone agrees that the children of Americans are Americans. Today, however, the 14th Amendment is being used to achieve a different purpose; one that is creating serious cracks in the infrastructure of our country.
Unfortunately, the modern interpretation of the 14th Amendment is subject to regular abuse, with non-residents exploiting its language to facilitate their own residency. The past few decades have seen a rash of pregnant foreigners intentionally giving birth on American soil, in order to ensure citizenship for their offspring, and potentially themselves.
As far as healthcare, illegal aliens give birth to about 340,000 children nation wide each year, imposing tremendous medical costs on hospitals. Several hospitals, including ones in Stockton, CA and Dallas, TX, report as many as 70% of their deliveries are to non-residents. Similarly, since the parents of infant citizens still qualify for welfare in order to protect the child, the Center for Immigration studies estimates nearly $2 billion dollars goes to illegal aliens annually, in the form of food stamps and free lunches.
Over 29% of all education dollars get spent on teaching anchor babies, including over $1 billion dollars teaching English as a second language, according to FAIR. Similarly, several affected states offer Spanish translation services in many public arenas, at an additional cost to the taxpayers. All told, FAIR estimates that as much as $100 billion tax dollars get spent on illegal aliens annually -- this is just in education.
Michealene Cristini Risley: Are 'Anchor Babies' Sinking the American Economy?
Recently, the 14th Amendment has been evoked to achieve a different effect. The emphasis has dramatically shifted away from rehabilitating ex-slaves and their disenfranchised offspring. No one questions the citizenship of any citizen's children, regardless of race or gender. Everyone agrees that the children of Americans are Americans. Today, however, the 14th Amendment is being used to achieve a different purpose; one that is creating serious cracks in the infrastructure of our country.
Unfortunately, the modern interpretation of the 14th Amendment is subject to regular abuse, with non-residents exploiting its language to facilitate their own residency. The past few decades have seen a rash of pregnant foreigners intentionally giving birth on American soil, in order to ensure citizenship for their offspring, and potentially themselves.
As far as healthcare, illegal aliens give birth to about 340,000 children nation wide each year, imposing tremendous medical costs on hospitals. Several hospitals, including ones in Stockton, CA and Dallas, TX, report as many as 70% of their deliveries are to non-residents. Similarly, since the parents of infant citizens still qualify for welfare in order to protect the child, the Center for Immigration studies estimates nearly $2 billion dollars goes to illegal aliens annually, in the form of food stamps and free lunches.
Over 29% of all education dollars get spent on teaching anchor babies, including over $1 billion dollars teaching English as a second language, according to FAIR. Similarly, several affected states offer Spanish translation services in many public arenas, at an additional cost to the taxpayers. All told, FAIR estimates that as much as $100 billion tax dollars get spent on illegal aliens annually -- this is just in education.
Michealene Cristini Risley: Are 'Anchor Babies' Sinking the American Economy?