Bankrupted by Jackpot Babes

The findings of a very recent Pew Hispanic Center report: "An estimated 340,000 of the 4.3 million babies born in the United States in 2008 were the offspring of unauthorized immigrants, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Hispanic Center."

No mention in the report about the exorbitant cost to taxpayers or society. Those messy questions and answers are left to the 'bad guys' at FAIR, CIS, or NumbersUSA.

Meanwhile, this Miami Herald story features a woman, an illegal from Nicaragua, who bore not one, not two, but three daughters at Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital - Shirley, Ashley, Yardley. Lovely names, and, lovely, how mom isn't exactly hiding in the shadows. No fear of La Migra.

In the photo: Jackson Memorial Hospital, a place I'm fond as my two sons where born in Jackson's midwife-staffed birthing center; a fantastic facility which no longer exists.

Update: Wendy Murphy, a New England law professor and no conservative, has tough words about anchor babies.

She writes, "Finally, we need to stop 'birthright citizenship'; the idea that when an illegal immigrant births a child here, the baby automatically becomes a citizen, which means the parents are allowed to remain in this country to care for the child until adulthood. No surprise then that an entire industry of 'pregnancy tourism' has evolved where non-citizen women about to give birth come to the U.S. for a 'visit' and then, oops, go into labor.

These end-runs around illegal immigration are harmful to American society and to the babies being created because many are born to selfish parents who want a kiddie cash cow. Federal law should be amended to require deportation of parents and baby as soon as the umbilical cord is cut. Sounds cruel, I know, but it's crueler to reward the birthing of unloved children to exploitive parents.

Citizenship in this country comes with duties as well as rights – not just rights."

'Nother Update: Roy Beck says that opponents of birthright citizen don't want the 14th Amendment repealed. He writes, "But most of us opponents of birthright citizenship do not believe the 14th amendment even needs to be clarified. We believe Congress could pass a law requiring a baby to have at least one parent who is a citizen or legal immigrant before being given U.S. citizenship. We also believe it would be taken to court and the Supreme Court would ultimately decide." Bring it on!