60,000 Babies Born To Illegal Immigrants In Texas Every Year

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From CNN's Jack Cafferty:

As the debate over illegal immigration – and now over the 14th amendment – heats up, consider this:

In Texas alone, there are more than 60,000 babies born to non-citizens every year. These babies automatically become U.S. citizens.

The Dallas Morning News reports that last year these births represented almost 16% of the total births statewide. And, that from 2001 to 2009, there were more than 542,000 births to illegal immigrant women.

Let me repeat, all these babies automatically become U.S. citizens... and we're just talking about Texas here.

This is why some Republicans want to consider changing the Constitution's guarantee of citizenship for anyone born in the United States.

House Minority Leader John Boehner says many illegal immigrants come here just so their children can become U.S. citizens. Boehner points to parts of our country where schools and hospitals are being overrun by illegal aliens.

Other Republicans say if both parents are here illegally, why should there be a reward for that behavior? And they have a point.

But opponents worry about the children, saying they didn't break any laws, yet would have no rights and nowhere to go.

Others claim the whole issue isn't about babies, but rather about politics and using immigration as a wedge issue headed into the midterm elections.

The 14th amendment became law in 1868. It was meant as a way to block states that prevented former slaves from becoming citizens.