
McALLEN, Texas, April 7, 2008
Illegal Immigrant Births - At Your Expense
Taxpayers Foot Bill For Roughly 300,000 Children Born Into Citizenship When Their Parents Are Illegal
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Paying For Immigrant Births
Pregnant women from Mexico are crossing the border to have their babies in the U.S. Byron Pitts reports on the debate over who should foot the bill for the children of illegal immigrants.
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Wishing to be identified only as Fabiola, this new mother crossed from Mexico into the United States just to give birth to her son -- and to make sure he's be an American citizen. (CBS)
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She gave birth to a healthy, 8 1/2 pound baby boy - born in America. His Mexican mother gave him an American name: Eliot.
Eliot is one of an estimated 300,000 children of illegal immigrants born in the United States every year, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. They're given instant citizenship because they are born on U.S. soil, which makes it easier for their parents to become U.S. citizens.
That's because those babies can eventually sponsor their parents - when they turn 21 years old.
As for Eliot's mother, no longer as fearful of deportation, she told CBS News her name, Fabiola, and her story.
"So your son is an American citizen. What does that mean to you?" Pitts asked.
"I am very glad that he was born. That's why I came here - so my children, my husband and I could have a better life," she said through a translator.
Back in December, when she was six months pregnant, Fabiola, her husband and their two daughters - ages 4 and 11 - crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico into the U.S.
Once on the other side of the river they walked for two hours in search of a better life and free medical care for their unborn child.
"Do many women in Mexico make the choice to have their children in the United States?" Pitts asked.
"Yes," she said through a translator. "I know people who have done that. Things are much better here in the U.S. because they help children so much more."
It's a "better" life ... that American taxpayers help pay for.
Take healthcare for example -- an estimated $1.1 billion per year for undocumented men, women and children, according to the Rand Corporation.
Joe Riley is the CEO of the McAllen Texas Medical Center near the Texas-Mexico border. Forty percent of the children born there, nearly 2,400 last year, were the babies of illegal immigrants.
Riley has seen and heard it all.
"Mothers about to give birth that walk up to the hospital still wet from swimming across the river in actual labor … dirty, wet, cold," he said.
But here to have a child?
"Here to have a child in the U.S.," he said.
McAllen is part of a large hospital system. Like all hospitals, it is mandated by law to treat all emergency-room patients, not verify citizenship.
"We have uncompensated care of over $200 million a year," Riley said.
"Of money that you'll never see again?" Pitts asked.
"Yes," he said.
Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said: "It is not fair to the taxpayers who have to foot the bill."
Congress has all but given up on comprehensive immigration reform. But lawmakers like Smith want to solve birth citizenship to illegal immigrants, in part by challenging the 14th Amendment, which guarantees U.S. citizenship to any child born in America.
"It seems fundamentally wrong that we ought to give the greatest honor of their citizenship," Smith said. "His or her mother came across the border illegally."
Many Americans who struggle to take care of their own families think it is unfair that they should take care of a family and they are not U.S. citizens.
"I don't understand the resentment," said. "I know that God will help them, too."
That's what Fabiola's doing for young Eliot. Relying on her faith, her family … and the U.S. government.
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See all 1307 CommentsI could have told the people this and instead of paying your salary they could have paid me nothing.
Wow, and they say that we Americans are dumb.
Money for nothing and your checks for free.
It has been manuevered by the left as racist, and by the right as needed for our economy. The bottom line is that it is very harmful and costly to the standard of living of most all American citizens.
Write to your US Congressmen and women, and US Senators. We need to repeal the 14th amendment, and re-write it as only American parents or legal immigrants are allowed to be entitled to their child, even if born within our borders, having American citizenship.
We need to stop the bleeding heart press from reporting on this. Who cares if they are deported. Good riddance!!!
Also, the government should bill back the health care back to these illegals home countries. If they don''t pay it, then we''ll take it off the foreign aid we give them every year.
The results of a recent landmark study by George Borjas, professor of economic and social policy at Harvard University, showed that Arizona workers lose $1.4 billion in wages a year because companies there hire illegals and because foreigners in the state illegally have reduced the employment rate of legal Arizona residents. These results reinforce those of the outstanding 2007 Heritage Foundation study by Robert Rector, which showed that the average cost to taxpayers in government services is about $32,000 per household of illegals.
In addition to this staggering burden, the taxpayers in Arizona have recently gotten a bill from the state for $300 MILLION to teach illegals English!
These are some the costs of the massive invasion of the US by illegals. The open-borders advocates just don''t get it - but the legal workers and taxpayers in Arizona do!
Fine...give us your address and we''ll send them right over!
My family (grandparents) were immigrants too. The difference is that they didn''t expect or receive any entitlements or public aid. They paid their own way.
I have no problem with illegal immigration as far as "them" being here. I''m not racist (at least I don''t think so), I enjoy Mexican food and hispanic culture, and I speak passible Spanish.
But I do not think that it is fair for the U.S. taxpayer to pay for the privilege of having their children born here, or for having their children educated here. Make the services available, yes. Paid for by U.S. taxpayers, no.
The U.S. should adopt a system like many Euorpean countries use: if people want to come to the U.S., let them in. But they either pay for their own services AT LEAST AT THE SAME RATE as U.S. citizens, or the U.S. govt. bills their country of origin a flat amount for services. I believe in the EU is comes out to be about the eqivilent of $8,000/yr per individual.
Do you realize that if we had the Fair Tax ( www.fairtax.org ) they would be paying taxes the same as the rest of us?
Immigrants of long ago were contributers to this country. It was a time before free government handouts. You actually had to be responsible for you and your family''s well being.
Today''s illegal immigrants are taking advantage of a system put in place for a different reason. They are net consumers. Their taxes (if they pay any at all) don''t compensate for what they consume. Do you blame them?
So the contributing immigrants of yesteryear vs. the take what you can get illegals of today.
Eliminate the free social programs and most of the problem goes away.
come on doesnt our tax dollars pay for those citizens here that arent doing a *** thing to get their own insurance? their sitting back in their trailor parks smoking, drinking, and having babies....
Maybe their should be more light shined on those mothers to get them on a program to stop having babies and learn a trade....
doesnt our tax dollars pay for those citizens here that arent doing a *** thing to get their own insurance? their sitting back in their trailor parks smoking, drinking, and having babies....
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So true, so true! We need to find some ways to fix that, too. And use the fund to do more meaningful things like putting into education and justice system!
Population grows exponentially. Here are the figures.
In 1830, the population of the earth reached 1 billion for the first time.
In 1930, or in just 100 years, the population of the earth doubled from 1 billion to 2 billion.
And then in 1976, or in just 46 years, the population of the earth doubled from 2 billion to 4 billion. (By 2008, we are up to 6.5 billion people.)
"Unchecked" immigration worked up to 1930 and maybe even up to 1976, but to continue the same policy after 1976 would be insane and we can no longer apply the same rule of, "aren''t we all immigrants for decades and centuries"? Yes, but that only worked while the population of the earth was still low. To continue that policy now equals self-destruction.
Hmmmmmm,........
Those who get in illegally should be treated like the criminals they are. Give birth, have the child taken away by family services (we will end up supporting it anyway), and put mom on the next bus out.
And like docile cattle, Americans low and moo, and vote for those who support it...
Meanwhile the CEOs and management of these companies are making tons of money off the deal and are able to live far away from the neighborhoods the illegals settle in and experience none of the negatives of illegal immigration.
There have been plenty of stories done on these "welfare mothers." That is how you know about it. Americans have raised cain about that and still raise cain about it. Clinton put in place a welfare to work program that got huge numbers of these people back to work. And that has nothing to do with illegals coming here and getting free health care on the American taxpayers dime. Let Mexico take care of her own people. Mexico has as many resources as America, but they refuse to take care of their own people.
Exactly! This earth is not getting bigger but the population is and people are living longer and longer.
Why? After 50 it sucks anyway!
What are Americans going to do? Hold their breaths and stomp their little feet?
Posted by RandyNason
How far did you go in school?
My grandparents came here from 3 different countries LEGALLY!
The first thing they did was find work, they knew english from their home countries. They became CITIZENS.
They WORKED hard on farms, factories and in building homes furniture--what ever it took to earn a living.
There were no "social gratuities", if there were, they would have been too proud to use them anyway.
They became part of what this country is all about--LEGALLY--
Most of these people have no intention of even learning English--some care illerate--I have seen it.
Their wages are low (even in the building industry) they get every handout available. Free medical, food stamps, subsidized housing and they even get subsidy in buying a house--and they don''t even have the decency to learn the very language they''re free loading from.
Deport--youwant to come here? Come LEGALLY, learn English and prove you can support yourself and yoru family.
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