Photo: Alamy
Nearly one in 10 babies born in the United States in 2023 had parents living in the country without legal status, according to new data from the Pew Research Center.
The analysis found that about 320,000 of the 3.6 million births nationwide in 2023 were to illegal immigrants or “unauthorized immigrant parents.”
Researchers said roughly 245,000 of those births were to mothers identified as unauthorized immigrants and fathers who were neither U.S. citizens nor lawful permanent residents. Another 15,000 births involved mothers with temporary legal status and fathers without citizenship or permanent residency.
The findings come as President Donald Trump has sought to limit automatic citizenship for some children born in the United States through an executive order that ends birthright citizenship, a policy rooted in the 14th Amendment. The issue is expected to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Under the current erroneous birthright citizenship interpretation, these children automatically become citizens and unlock food stamps, welfare, specialized schooling for English education, and eventually college aid,” Brandy Perez Carbaugh of the Heritage Foundation told The New York Post.
According to the report, approximately 260,000 babies born in 2023 would not have qualified for U.S. citizenship under the framework outlined in President Trump’s order if it is upheld.
The study also places the numbers in historical context, noting that births to unauthorized immigrant parents generally track broader population trends. That population more than tripled between 1990 and 2007, a period when births to unauthorized immigrant mothers rose sharply, from about 120,000 in 1990 to a peak of roughly 380,000 in 2006.
In 1990, such births accounted for about 3 percent of the nation’s 4.1 million births. By 2006, the share had increased to roughly 9 percent.
The 2023 figure marks the highest level since 2010, when about 325,000 babies were born to unauthorized immigrant parents, according to the Pew analysis.
