Anchor Baby Population in U.S. Exceeds One Year of American Births

These children are commonly known as “anchor babies,” as they are able to eventually bring an unlimited number of foreign relatives to the U.S. through the process known as “chain migration.” Every two new immigrants to the U.S. brings an estimated seven foreign relatives with them.

There are at least 4.5 million anchor babies in the U.S. under the age of 18-years-old, according to the CBO. This estimate does not include the potentially millions of anchor babies who are older than 18-years-old, nor does it include the anchor babies who are living overseas with their deported foreign parents.

The 4.5 million anchor babies estimate exceeds the four million American children born every year. In the next decade, the CBO estimates that there will be at least another 600,000 anchor babies born in the U.S., which would put the anchor baby population on track to exceed annual American births — should the U.S. birth rate not increase — by more than one million anchor babies.

Already, the anchor baby population exceeds the entire population of Los Angeles, California and is roughly half of the population of New York City.

As Breitbart News reported, a decade of chain migration, allowing newly naturalized immigrants to bring an unlimited number of foreign relatives with them, has exceeded two years of all American births. Altogether, chain migration since 2005 has imported roughly 9.3 million foreign nationals to the U.S.

Every year, the U.S. admits more than 1.5 foreign nationals, with the vast majority deriving from family-based chain migration. In 2016, the legal and illegal immigrant population reached a record high of 44 million. By 2023, the Center for Immigration Studies estimates that the legal and illegal immigrant population of the U.S. will make up nearly 15 percent of the entire U.S. population.