King Introduces Bill Closing "Anchor Baby" Loophole

Press Release

Congressman Steve King (R-IA), Congressman Phil Gingrey (R-GA), Congressman Gary Miller (R-CA) and Congressman Rob Woodall (R-GA) released the following statements after introducing legislation to end the practice of automatically granting American citizenship to "Anchor Babies" born in the United States to illegal alien parents. The legislation is officially designated as H.R. 140, the "Birthright Citizenship Act of 2011."

Statements of Congressman King, Congressman Gingrey, Congressman Miller and Congressman Woodall follow:

Congressman King: "The current practice of extending U.S. citizenship to hundreds of thousands of "Anchor Babies' every year arises from the misapplication of the Constitution's citizenship clause and creates an incentive for illegal aliens to cross our border. The "Birthright Citizenship Act of 2011' ends this practice by making it clear that a child born in the United States to illegal alien parents does not meet the standard for birthright citizenship already established by the Constitution. Passage of this bill will ensure that immigration law breakers are not rewarded, will close the door to future waves of extended family chain migration, and will help to bring an end to the global "birth tourism' industry."

Congressman Gingrey: "Throughout my time in Congress, combating illegal immigration has always been a high priority of mine. Addressing the birthright citizenship issue needs to be at the forefront of this effort, and I am pleased to advance this initiative with my colleagues. I will continue working on this - and several other measures - to stem the overwhelming tide of illegal immigration in this country."

Congressman Miller: "It is unfair to grant birthright citizenship to children of illegal immigrants because it undermines the intention of the Fourteenth Amendment, rewards those that have recklessly broken our nation's immigration laws, and costs American taxpayers billions annually. By simply closing this loophole, we will save taxpayers billions and reduce the appeal of entering the United States illegally. This bill simply makes sense."

Congressman Woodall: "Representative King is absolutely right with the introduction of this birthright citizenship legislation, and I am very proud to join him as an original co-sponsor on this bill. This Congress must take bold steps to solve our illegal immigration crisis. An important part of immigration reform must be removing the incentives that are in place encouraging illegal immigration. Representative King's bill is a good step in that direction."