Anchor Babies

The fourteenth amendment (granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States”) was ratified in 1868 at the end of the Civil War.  It has been interpreted to allow people to enter the country illegally, pop out a kid and, Bingo!, the child is a US citizen so the family “must” be allowed to stay. 

I know the intent was to give former slaves official citizenship but I question if the authors or ratifiers intended to include illegal aliens.  Regardless of the interpretation (and US News has an excellent discussion on this), we need a national consensus on the topic and a possible Supreme Court decision. 

Whether it requires an amendment to the 14th amendment or just a law to clarify it, there should be no more anchor babies for illegal aliens.  If a woman sneaks across the border to have her child because of better medical care or if an mother is here on some temporary visa, so be it.  The birth certificate should indicate that the child is not a citizen.

What should we do about the current anchor babies?  If they are under the age of 18, they must leave with their parents (if both or illegal or stay here with the legal parent).  If they leave, once they are 18 and permitted to travel as an adult, they can return.  Children 18 and over can elect to stay or go with the parents.  The children who are citizens can apply to have their parents return by following the process any other proper resident can follow to bring family members.

People may argue that this is “unfair” to current families.  Was it fair for them to sneak into this country, have a child and put the burden on our taxpayers to raise that child?