Speech #1100022199

There are certainly legitimate arguments that can be made on both sides of the issue. But the one that I think focuses most clearly on whether or not it was the intention of the writers of the 14th amendment to include this issue is demonstrated in the language that comes out of the debates that surrounded the adoption of that amendment. The reality is. though. that many of the court cases upon which people rely today to say that we automatically extend citizenship to anyone born on our soil regardless of the legal status of their parents. comes from a day and a time when the United States did not have immigration laws in place. did not have in place laws that distinguished between those who were legally in our country and those who were not. We. of course. now live in a day and a time when those laws are in place. albeit they are not very well enforced most of the time. But what is the cost of this issue of birthright citizenship? I think there is a legitimate argument that can be made to say that birthright citizenship is one of those magnets that contributes to illegal immigration in the first place. Consider the latest statistics from the Center for Immigration Studies in which they say that there are approximately 383.000 children born every year to illegal immigrants. That is. about 42 percent of the births to all immigrants in this country are to illegal immigrants to this country. and that births to illegal immigrants now account for one out of every ten births in the United States. One out of every ten children born in this country is being born to someone. a parent. who had no legal right to be here. What are the financial costs associated with it? We all know that illegal immigration in and of itself places huge financial strains on local governments in providing education. in providing health care. and on State governments in the same way. and also on the Federal Government. The Center for Immigration Studies found that the cost to United States taxpayers for the cost of illegal immigration is approximately $10.4 billion a year. And a large part of that cost Is attributable to babies born to illegal immigrants. In my State of Georgia. for example. I am told that a nonCaesarian section child delivery with no complications costs approximately $2.720. Now you multiply that figure. and probably my States cost is less than the national average. but you multiply that by the 383.000plus births every year. and you can instantly see that just in that initial health care delivery cost. it is a very significant sum. But what does birthright citizenship then also do to our system? First of all. in 1996. when we passed the Immigration Reform Act. one of the things that many people have bragged about was a provision that said in general terms that if you are illegally in this country. you are not going to be entitled to any social benefits other than education at the elementary and secondary level and emergency medical care. Now. we make a mockery of that by virtue of birthright citizenship because even though we say we are not going to extend those social services. by giving a child of an illegal immigrant citizenship status. you immediately have TANF. Aid to Families With Dependent Children. whatever term you call It in your community. those kinds of welfare social benefits flow through the child. There are also food stamps and housing subsidy benefits. and who are you going to deliver them to. a new child? Of course not. Those social benefits in the form of cash and other indicia of benefits flow through the hands of the illegal parents. And are you going to deport the parents. an illegal immigrant who has given birth to a child who is a United States citizen? I say you probably are not. and the statistics bear me out. So I would simply say. Mr. Speaker. if somebody is concerned about these issues. the next time they have to wait in line in the doctors office or in the hospital or in the waiting room of the emergency clinic. or the next time that they are In the grocery checkout line and somebody is paying for food with food stamps and it is fairly apparent that they are not legally in this country and you want to know why. the why lies in birthright citizenship that is being granted to a child of that illegal immigrant. Now. as I say. we are in the distinct minority in the world community of continuing to allow this practice to occur. I. along with Mr.