Birthright Citizenship: H.R. 3862 (1993-94)

The Immigration Moratorium Act would have ended the granting of U.S. citizenship to babies born to illegal-alien mothers ("anchor babies") in the United States. “Anchor Babies” are the children born in the United States to illegal-alien mothers. Under current practice, these children are U.S. citizens at birth, simply because they were born on U.S. soil. They are called anchor babies because, as U.S. citizens, they become eligible to sponsor for legal immigration any of their relatives, including their illegal-alien mothers, when they turn 21 years of age, thus becoming the U.S. “anchor” for an extended immigrant family. H.R. 3862 would have significantly lowered legal immigration levels, thereby removing one of the major magnets for illegal immigration.