Rasmussen: 61% Oppose Citizenship for ‘Anchor Babies’

A growing number of Americans think children born in the United States to illegal immigrants should not be entitled to automatic citizenship, according to a new Rasmussen Reports poll.

The Rasmussen Reports telephone survey found that 61 percent of likely voters say these children, sometimes called “anchor babies,” should not have automatic American citizenship, a right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.

The response was the highest level of support for changing the law found in five years of polls by Rasmussen Reports.

In the poll, 28 percent said children born in the United States to illegal immigrants should receive automatic citizenship, down six points from a similar poll taken in August.

Another 11 percent were undecided.

On a related topic, 84 percent said anyone who receives federal, state, or local government benefits should first have to prove they are in the country legally. Just 9 percent were against such a measure.

The nationwide poll of 1,000 was conducted April 17-18 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.