Illegal Immigrant Births - At Your Expense

(CBS)  It was 5 a.m. and CBS News national correspondent Byron Pitts is with a woman who is nine months pregnant. She's rushed to a south Texas hospital to undergo a C-section - a $4,700 medical procedure that won't cost her a dime. She qualifies for emergency Medicaid.

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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[Rand_Y]

The story below is typical -- but seeing it reported in the news is not:

Saul Chavez was previously convicted of a DUI, but was not handed over to ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement) because he was lucky enough to be in Chicago, a proud Sanctuary City and home of the President's re-election machine. Chavez drove drunk again, this time killing 66-year-old father Dennis McCann.

Without penalty, Chicago police declined to hand Chavez over to ICE, allowing him to walk. Not surprisingly, Chavez skipped bail and will likely not be held accountable for killing an American citizen.

Because Chavez would likely have been convicted of homicide, he might qualify for deportation under Obama's new "reprioritization." But, remember, Chavez was convicted of a crime before he killed McCann. Under Obama's new priorities, Chavez would not have qualified as a priority since he was only convicted of a misdemeanor. Though he was here illegally and was found breaking our laws, Chicago allowed him to stay to break yet another law that devastatingly resulted in a man's death - this is the policy that Obama has adopted nationally.

Remember: this administration is also suing states that seek to get immigration laws enforced. Increasingly, counties and cities are getting the message: this president won't enforce the laws so we won't even honor ICE detainers. A true national crisis is upon us.

In 2012, FAIR will be here fighting to reverse these policies and to stop the resulting tragedies. Already this year, we have met with top ICE agents, are suing for release of more administration documents and are applying pressure where it's due. But we need your help. Your donation of $25, $50, or $100 will go a long way in fighting against immigration polices harmful to Americans.

We can't afford another four years of administrative amnesty and policies that reward those who break the law and demand special treatment. How many warning signs will we allow our government to ignore before there are more victims?

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[tammytyler]

When our American Representatives going to cut off this MEXICAN RACKET
for these parasites! They have no shame at all. And our Presidents have to
be idiots for allowing this racket to continue.
Little wonder Americans are so ANTI-Mexican!

[Alcicss]

Pardon me. I must work two jobs to make ends meet and I don't qualify for any of the benefits that she will receive free. If I would want to have a baby, I would have to pay $5,000 to $10,000 deductible. And she doesn't understand the resentment? What if the situation was turned around. Do you think she would understand the resentment then? RIDICULOUS.

[mike60min]

. I don't think you, who support the Undocumented Immigrants, realize just how our country is being affected. The law that allows US Citizenship for being born on US Soil was enacted to address the Negro slaves brought to the USA INVOLUNTARILY. The huge surge of Undocumented Immigrants sneaking across our border to have Babies also known as "Anchor Babies", is VOLUNTARY. They are using a loophole to gain access to the USA and our Social Services. Many cannot read or write, SPANISH. They have no Universal Education. They are poor and have no money. At the Parkland Hospital in Dallas Texas, there are 15,000 births a year, a public hospital, 70% of those births are from mothers who are not US Citizens. In further researching how many Babies are born from NON-US citizens, the number came up. There are 4 million Babies born in the US every year. ONE MILLION are from women who are NOT US Citizens. Most birth costs are born by the tax payer, both local and Federal, your taxes. How long do you think we can continue to afford the burden these people, who come to the USA for one thing only, to birth a child to gain access to our Social benefits? You guys better wake up. The Illegal Immigration issue is about MONEY, not bias or discrimination, but MONEY. When the money runs out, our kids, the US Citizens will have trouble coming up with enough to maintain our education system. Ask any of the 300,000 school teachers who are losing their jobs this year due to the recession.

[mike60min]

. I don't think you, who support the Undocumented Immigrants, realize just how our country is being affected. The law that allows US Citizenship for being born on US Soil was enacted to address the Negro slaves brought to the USA INVOLUNTARILY. The huge surge of Undocumented Immigrants sneaking across our border to have Babies also known as "Anchor Babies", is VOLUNTARY. They are using a loophole to gain access to the USA and our Social Services. Many cannot read or write, SPANISH. They have no Universal Education. They are poor and have no money. At the Parkland Hospital in Dallas Texas, there are 15,000 births a year, a public hospital, 70% of those births are from mothers who are not US Citizens. In further researching how many Babies are born from NON-US citizens, the number came up. There are 4 million Babies born in the US every year. ONE MILLION are from women who are NOT US Citizens. Most birth costs are born by the tax payer, both local and Federal, your taxes. How long do you think we can continue to afford the burden these people, who come to the USA for one thing only, to birth a child to gain access to our Social benefits? You guys better wake up. The Illegal Immigration issue is about MONEY, not bias or discrimination, but MONEY. When the money runs out, our kids, the US Citizens will have trouble coming up with enough to maintain our education system. Ask any of the 300,000 school teachers who are losing their jobs this year due to the recession.

[jones35]

ITS TIME FOR A BIG CHANGE IN THE LAWS. IT MAKES IT HARDER ON THE AMERICAN CHILD TO LEARN. WHEN A CHILD CAN'T SPEAK ENGLISH. I THINK THEY NEED TO SEND THEM ALL BACK ACROSS THE BOARD THEY ARE NOT AMERICAN BABY'S. GANGS AND DRUGS AND KILLING ARE ON A RISE SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE NOW. WE OWE THEM NOTHING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WORK HARD FOR WHAT WE HAVE THEY CAOME AND GET EVERYTHING HAND TO THEM I DON'T THINK SO! IT NOT FREE TO LIVE HERE FOR THE AMERICANS IT SHOULDN'T BE FREE TO THEM GET REID OF THEM NOW.

[Dane12344]

Hello all.
What i read in these comments sickens me. So many vindictive, selfish people who have lost sight of all the wonderful things bestowed upon us as Americans. I have worked hard all my life and now make enough to support my family, hopefully be able to send one or both of my kids to college and be able to retire in about ten years. I pay uncle sam more than I would like to, but you know what, when I read this article I thought to myself: "there is no better way I would see my tax dollars spent than to make sure a precious life is safely born and has a good environment and country to live in.
All you out there who condemn this as a "waste" of tax dollars ought to be ashamed of yourselves. I bet many of you consider yourselves Christians too. What position do you think Jesus would take on this? Have any of you ever BEEN to a poor village in Mexico? I have, and it pulls your heartstrings to see these beautiful, kind, hard working, God-fearing people live in the conditions they do, while we are surrounded and waste more food and other useful things than any other country in the world.
You out there who condemn these illegals need to do some soul searching and find why it is "the least of these" that you are pointing your fingers at. You must dig deep and find where these vindictive, selfish thoughts are coming from. God bless you, and I hope you rediscover the love for humanity and people that you probably (i hope) once had. Thats exactly what Jesus was trying to show us, wasn't it?

[GregGrosu]

Can an illegal immigrant simply come to America at 9 months pregnant, walk into an ER while in labor and then have that baby be a US citizen? Seems pretty unfair that this is a process, while many immigrants who want to tnter on noble grounds, like with a <a href="http://www.cmbeb5visa.com">eb5 investor visa</a>, have years of hurdles to overcome beforehand.

[chiawatha]

This isn't a Left or Right thing. I am a very Liberal Democrat and agree 'birth citizenship' is outdated and needs to be repealed.

I couldn't have said this better myself, so I'll quote from the website of Congressman Lamar Smith of Texas:

"Before we consider new immigration proposals, we must fix a fundamental flaw in our current immigration laws, which is the automatic granting of American citizenship to the children of illegal aliens.

The United States is the only industrialized country in the world that automatically grants citizenship to a child born to illegal alien parents. The easy availability of ?birth citizenship? is a major reason why hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens continue to cross our borders every year.

In the 1980?s the United Kingdom and Australia ended U.S.-style birth citizenship after it was abused. In Europe, Asia and Africa, citizenship is not automatically extended to infants born within the countries` borders. At least one parent must be a citizen in order for a child to have citizenship status.

Hundreds of thousands of children are born to illegal aliens each year. The children of illegal aliens immediately qualify for a number of federal, state, and local benefit programs. In addition, when the children turn 21, they can sponsor the immigration of other relatives, becoming ?anchor babies? for an entire extended family.

I support legislation that would end birth citizenship. It would require at least one parent to be a citizen or a legal permanent resident. By preserving U.S. citizenship for children of citizens and legal permanent residents, we will not encourage illegal immigration."