The two top issues for voters during the 2024 election cycle were the economy and illegal immigration. During Joe Biden’s four years in office, his administration has allowed millions of illegal immigrants from all over the world into the country. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed on Day One to deport those millions back to their home countries. The onslaught of illegal immigrants has wreaked havoc on the nation’s public assistance, medical, and educational systems. It has also brought attention to a problem that is not new, but it is growing rapidly. That is the issue of “anchor babies.”
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Anchor babies are children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrant parents, and the number of them born in 2024 is staggering. Nearly 400,000 babies were born in 2024 to illegal immigrant parents. These are not just illegal immigrants who come across the southern border but include tourists and foreign visa workers, people who have no direct ties to the U.S., but their children automatically become U.S. citizens. While some of these births might not be planned, some of them are, and it is becoming not just a matter of legality and constitutionality but also a strong argument for Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan.
The sheer number of births is a problem now, but it becomes more of a problem once those anchor babies become adults. They then can sponsor their parents or other relatives for green cards. For 2024 alone, the breakdown goes like this: 300,000 babies were born to illegal immigrant parents, and 72,000 were born to foreign tourists, foreign visa workers, and foreign students.
Along with the mass deportation of illegal immigrants, Trump has promised to end birthright citizenship in his second term. It is a move that is supported by a large number of Americans. That support includes 48 percent of whites and 42 percent of Hispanics. In a May 2023 campaign video, he stated,
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“On day one of my new term in office, I will sign an executive order making clear to federal agencies that under the correct interpretation of the law going forward the future children of illegal aliens will not receive automatic U.S. citizenship.”
Trump’s promise to end birthright citizenship has renewed legal and constitutional debates on the subject. The 14th Amendment was ratified on July 9, 1868, and was designed to ensure that formerly enslaved people would be granted full rights of citizenship. Section one states,
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
Birthright citizenship might become the new political football. It has been long debated by Constitutional scholars from both ends of the political spectrum. The key phrase in the clause is “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Conservative scholars have maintained that the citizenship clause in the 14th Amendment does not grant automatic citizenship to the children of those here illegally because they are not subjected to U.S. jurisdiction. The United States Supreme Court has also never ruled expressly on the children of illegal immigrants.
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The bottom line is this: the American people elected Donald Trump to secure the border and deport those here illegally. Simple math says that as more illegal immigrants are deported, the incidence of anchor babies goes down, and America finally gets a handle on illegal immigration.
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