President Trump once again questioned the interpretation of the 14th Amendment, the constitutional amendment that established birthright citizenship.
The amendment was written to protect the children of newly freed slaves so that their citizenship, personhood, and freedom could not be challenged. However, a loose interpretation over the years has allowed any person, including a child of illegal immigrants, to obtain citizenship if they are born in the United States.
While legal questions remain (as the Supreme Court has never ruled on birthright citizenship with regards to a child of illegal immigrants, which is central to Trump’s challenge of its current interpretation), thousands of illegal immigrants have taken advantage of birthright citizenship by either traveling to the U.S. while pregnant or having a child while illegal. Both are attempts to abuse current law to create an entryway into the country for individuals who otherwise could not obtain permanent legal status. These new American citizen children can request green cards for their parents once they reach age of 21. Furthermore, these children open the door to a lifetime of U.S. government benefits for them and their parents, including Medicaid, subsidized housing, in-state tuition, federal scholarships, and food stamps.
The Center for Immigration Studies and Pew Research have estimated that there were between 275,000-297,000 births to illegal immigrant parents in 2014. Additionally, there are approximately 36,000 “birth tourists” who come to the U.S. each year. These births cost upwards of $2.4 billion for U.S. taxpayers.
Taxpayers are often left to pay the financial burden for these births. According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, births to illegal immigrants cost Florida taxpayers more than $116 million a year. Even birth tourists, who have the financial resources to obtain a visa and travel to the U.S. in the first place, often don’t pay their hospital bills. This happens all of the time in my hometown of Miami.
Every year, Russian and Brazilian women pay tens of thousands of dollars for birth “packages” that arrange travel and stay for the birth of their children in Miami. Many Central Americans do this as well, as anyone from Miami would attest, including Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. Recent data from the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration Miami-Dade shows a conservative estimate of 382 such births occurring in Miami-Dade County in 2014. However, one Russian firm alone stated they have anywhere from 40-60 such births a month. Another firm said 30 percent of their clients were repeat clients. With several of these firms in operation, the real number of births could be two to three times the current estimate. The state of Florida says births to foreigners who live outside the U.S. have increased by 200 percent since the year 2000.
In many cases, these children return home with their parents and spend their entire childhoods abroad only to return to the U.S. when it is most beneficial — to receive a college education. These students apply as American citizens and compete for enrollment in states where they have never paid taxes to fund education. They are eligible for in-state tuition and financial aid, just like every other American.
At what point do American citizens acknowledge their own laws are being used against their interests? No reasonable person can argue this abuse is beneficial to taxpayers. Lawmakers should look to cities like Miami to understand the loopholes in birthright citizenship. Executive order or not, elected officials should agree to put an end to this abuse.
Eduardo Neret (@eduneret) is a contributor to Red Alert Politics. He is a senior at the University of Florida, where he runs The Daily Nerv, a student-run conservative online publication.
