Study: Close to 10% of Babies Born in the U.S. During Biden’s Term Were ‘Anchor Babies’

Nearly One in Ten U.S. Births in 2023 to Illegal Immigrants

The recent birth rate statistics indicate that about 10% of births in the U.S. in 2023, under the Biden administration, have been to parents who are illegal immigrants.

Pew Research Center identified that of the 3.6 million babies born in 2023, roughly 320,000 are categorized as “anchor babies.” These newborns might not qualify for automatic citizenship if the Supreme Court upholds an executive order from former President Donald Trump.

Upon analyzing the details, it’s estimated that around 260,000 infants will likely be ineligible for citizenship according to Trump’s directive.

Dr. Pew found that approximately 245,000 of these infants were born to mothers classified as illegal immigrants, with fathers lacking lawful residency or citizenship. Additionally, around 15,000 were born to mothers with temporary legal status, with fathers also not being citizens or permanent residents.

Looking at broader patterns, Pew noted that the birth rates among illegal immigrant populations have mirrored shifts in the size of these populations. From 1990 to 2007, the number of illegal immigrants more than tripled, and births within this group also surged from 120,000 in 1990 to about 380,000 in 2006. In 1990, just 3% of the 4.1 million total U.S. births were to illegal immigrant mothers, but by 2006, that figure rose to roughly 9%.

Pew suggests that the number of births to illegal immigrant parents in 2023 will be the highest recorded since 2010, the second year of Obama’s presidency, when 325,000 such births were documented.

Experts interpreting these figures believe they carry significant implications. Brandi Perez Carbaugh from the Heritage Foundation pointed out that under the current interpretation of birthright citizenship, children born to these parents would automatically gain citizenship, leading to access to various benefits, including food assistance and educational resources.

She also mentioned that many illegal immigrants are having children in the U.S. due to a long-standing misunderstanding that their children would automatically be U.S. citizens.

Recently, the Supreme Court began reviewing a case, Trump v. Barbara, which questions the validity of the executive orders that limit birthright citizenship. The wording being contested states that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and all persons subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are nationals of the United States and of the state in which they reside.”

The principle of birthright citizenship is rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, established in 1868 as part of the effort to ensure equal rights for the formerly enslaved population.

According to the Department of Justice argument, the amendment wasn’t designed to grant citizenship to everyone born in the U.S., but specifically to address the status of former slaves. They interpret the phrase regarding jurisdiction to mean that it pertains to individuals fully under the state’s political jurisdiction—thus illegal immigrants wouldn’t qualify since their stay in the country is seen as temporary or unauthorized.

Historically, the Fourteenth Amendment was tested about thirty years after its ratification in an 1895 case where a child born to Chinese parents in San Francisco was ruled to be a citizen.