No More Anchor Babies!

Received today from RightMarch.com

ALERT: We have a chance today to "plug up" one of the biggest holes in American national security -- a hole that has led to millions of illegal immigrants being granted the "right" to stay in this country, even though they broke the law to get here.

That "hole" is called "birthright citizenship" for so-called "anchor babies" (children born in U.S. hospitals to illegal immigrant parents) -- and a bill has been re-introduced to STOP it.

After the Civil War, the 14th amendment was introduced into the Constitution to allow slaves to become US citizens after the emancipation. The country, especially the western territories, was wide open and ripe for homesteading. There was no welfare state to exploit, and the modern problems associated with immigration could not have been imagined. Since then it has been misused for decades to allow literally millions of illegal alien "anchor babies" -- and their illegal parents and families -- to remain in this country.

These children automatically become citizens, and thus serve as an "anchor" for their parents to remain in the country. Our immigration authorities understandably are reluctant to break up families by deporting parents of young babies. But birthright citizenship, originating in the 14th amendment, has become a serious cultural and economic dilemma for our nation.

In some hospitals in Texas, administrators estimate that 70% or 80% of the babies born have parents who are in the country illegally. It's the same story in California, Arizona, and New Mexico. And the truth is, most illegal immigrants who have babies in U.S. hospitals do not have health insurance and do not pay their hospital bills.

This obviously cannot be sustained, either by the hospitals involved or the taxpayers who end up paying the bills.

Americans are happy to welcome immigrants who follow our immigration laws and seek a better life here. America is far more welcoming and tolerant of newcomers than virtually any nation on earth. But our modern welfare state creates perverse incentives for immigrants, incentives that cloud the issue of why people choose to come here. The real problem is not immigration, but rather the welfare state magnet.

Hospitals bear the costs when illegal immigrants enter the country for the express purpose of giving birth. But illegal immigrants also use emergency rooms, public roads, and public schools. In many cases they are able to obtain Medicaid, food stamps, public housing, and even unemployment benefits. Some have fraudulently collected Social Security benefits.

Of course many American citizens also use or abuse the welfare system. But we cannot afford to open our pocketbooks to the rest of the world. We MUST end the perverse incentives that encourage immigrants to come here illegally -- including the anchor baby incentive.

TAKE ACTION: No other wealthy, western nations grant automatic citizenship to those who simply happen to be born within their borders to non-citizens.

You read that right. These nations recognize that citizenship involves more than the physical location of one's birth; it also involves some measure of cultural connection and allegiance. In most cases this means the parents must be citizens of a nation in order for their newborn children to receive automatic citizenship.

Thankfully, Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) has once again introduced his Birthright Citizenship bill that would eliminate automatic citizenship for children born in the United States. The "Birthright Citizenship Act of 2009" (H.R.1868) would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to make it more difficult for children born in the U.S. to gain citizenship.

Under the proposed legislation, a person born in the United States, in order to gain citizenship, must have at least one parent who is:

• a U.S. citizen or national;
  
• a lawful permanent resident alien whose residence is in the United States; or
  
• an alien performing active service in the U.S. Armed Forces.

PLEASE, send a FREE message right away, urging YOUR U.S. Representative to co-sponsor and actively support H.R. 1868, the "Birthright Citizenship Act":

https://writerep.house.gov/

It's time to END "anchor baby" citizenship for illegal aliens!