Brian Bilbray: “I rise today to address the Citizenship Reform Act of 1997. The Citizenship Reform Act of 1997 amends the Immigration…”

“I rise today to address the Citizenship Reform Act of 1997. The Citizenship Reform Act of 1997 amends the Immigration and Naturalization Act to deny automatic citizenship to children born in the United States who were not born by parents who are legal resident aliens or permanent residents, or U.S. citizens. Now, Members may say there are not that many people out there who are born to citizens of tourists or illegal aliens, and it is not that big a deal. Mr. Speaker, let me clarify that this has become a big deal. In California alone, we have addressed this issue and seen this issue grow. Over 250,000 children of illegal aliens are now qualified in the county, in one county, of Los Angeles, over 250,000 qualify for benefits such as Medicare, AFDC, WIC, and SSI. In fact, two-thirds of the births in Los Angeles County, Mr. Speaker, in the public hospitals of Los Angeles County, are to parents who are illegal aliens. The fact is that the cost to the State of California alone is $500 million for providing welfare and health benefits to the children of illegal aliens. Forty percent of all births in the State of California are children of illegal aliens. These costs are not just borne by the people of California, they are borne by everyone. I think it is an issue that we now have a responsibility to address. The fact is we have created a loophole and created a benefit for people who break our laws.”