Millions voted for President Trump, the Republican nominee back in November 2016, and one of Trump’s goals was to clamp down on illegal alien immigration, and while the Trump administration is making progress, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released a report showing that 4.5 million “Anchor Babies” under the age of 18 live in the U.S. The term “anchor babies” is given to those children who were born on American soil while at least one of their parents is an illegal alien or a deportable parent.
The CBO stated in the report that they have estimated that about 60,000 or more anchor babies will be born to such illegal aliens or a deportable parent in each of the subsequent 10 years, beginning in 2018. As it stands, that will increase the cost of government, taken out of taxpayer dollars to support these children, although poverty, homelessness, and homeless veterans will once again take a backseat to take care of these kids.
The effect on direct government spending
The CBO report on immigration was found in the bill, S. 1615, known as the Dream Act of 2017, which was introduced in the U.S.
Senate on July 20, 2017, which, if enacted, will begin in early 2018.
Those anchor babies, in part, in order for them to be eligible, will have to meet certain immigration criteria which would include having had a continuous physical presence in the United States for four years, being under the age of 18 upon their arrival to the U.S., not in violation of any U.S. or national security laws, possessing a high school diploma, enrolled in high school, or having a GED, according to the Senate bill.
The total cost is estimated, if the Dream Act immigration legislation is enacted, to be about $26.8 billion over the 2018-2027 time period which would also increase the cost of the current law for a variety of federal benefit programs such as healthcare and refundable tax credits -- meaning more taxpayer dollars from “legal-born" Americans will go to support these anchor babies.
What some members of Congress have said and done
Breitbart reported that Republican U.S.
Rep. Steve King of Iowa did file immigration-type legislation at the start of 2017 in which the legislation would have ended the birthright citizenship and would have also put the United States in line with other Western nations' immigration policies, but like most of any Congressional legislation, the bill has not moved and remains in the Subcommittee that deals with Immigration and Border Security policies.
Interestingly enough, former Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada is a prime example. In 1993 he opposed the controversial immigration birthright citizenship that stated that “no sane nation” would grant or support illegal aliens with United States citizenship for their youngsters.
When it comes to immigration, those on the left, namely Democrats, claim that in the U.S. Constitution, the 14th Amendment allows such a policy to let illegal aliens stay in our nation. As they continue to drive that narrative, they forget that the U.S. Supreme Court has never unequivocally ruled that such children of deportable parent(s) must be given automatic citizenship, while several legal scholars have also disputed those claims made by Democrats and their supporters.