An anchor baby is born in the United States every 93 seconds, according to Breitbart's Julia Hahn, who cited a Pew Research Center study of 2008 census data. In other words, one in 12 newborns is born to an illegal immigrant, often after the immigrant entered the U.S. to have a baby so it would be granted automatic citizenship under the 14th Amendment.
The idea is that once the baby turns 21, they can sponsor their parents for citizenship.
Roughly 340,000 babies were born to illegal immigrants in the U.S. in 2008. Unauthorized aliens comprise about 4 percent of the total adult population, but because they have higher than average birthrates, their children account for a much larger share of the newborn population (8 percent) and the child population (7 percent), Pew said.
Even Joaquin Guzman, a.k.a. El Chapo, the Mexican drug kingpin who recently made a high-profile escape from prison, ordered his wife to enter the U.S. illegally with the intention of having an anchor baby. U.S. law enforcement was reportedly aware of the plan but could do little as they had no charges to bring against her, as HNGN previously reported.
After an illegal immigrant has a baby in the U.S., the mother and father reap numerous benefits from U.S. taxpayers, such as welfare, public schooling and health care. Seventy-one percent of illegal alien households with children were able to get some kind of welfare in 2009, according to the National Review.
"Illegal immigrants generally access welfare programs through their U.S.-born children, to whom government assistance is guaranteed. Additionally, U.S.-born children of illegal aliens are entitled to American public schools, health care, and more, even though illegal-alien households rarely pay taxes," the National Review wrote.
Sending an illegal immigrant's U.S.-born child through K-12 public school costs, at minimum, about $160,000 per year, according to Breitbart. Those children eventually enter the workforce and compete for wages against children born to legal U.S. parents.
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump recently brought the issue back into the national spotlight with the release of his immigration plan outlining how he plans to fix what experts call a flawed interpretation of the 14th Amendment.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla, and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush - two presidential candidates favored by wealthy donors -- have both suggest they would allow the policy to continue abetted.
Some have taken issue with the phrase "anchor baby," calling it derogatory, but most Americans seem to support the general principle of reforming birthright citizenship. A 2011 Rasmussen Reports survey found that only 28 percent of likely U.S. voters believe that children born to illegal immigrants in the U.S. should be automatically given citizenship.
Senator David Vitter, R-LA, and Representative Steven King, R-Iowa, have both introduced bills that would fix the 14th Amendment's misapplication by only granting citizenship to children that have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, according to Breitbart.
