American taxpayers are paying more for illegal immigrants to have babies than to build Trump's wall

Here's a midterm election messaging opportunity for Republicans, if they want it.

A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies found that the costs of illegal immigrant women having children in the United States exceed the amount of money Congress has appropriated to build a wall along the southern border. Yes: The government is spending more money on childbirth welfare for illegal immigrants than it is for preventing illegal immigration with a wall.

From Paul Bedard at the Washington Examiner:

The new report reveals that women in the United States illegally had 297,000 children in 2014 at a cost of $2.4 billion.

That is $800 million more than the Senate has approved for Trump’s border wall this year and enough to pay for the wall over 10 years.

The Center for Immigration Studies report also put a price on the likely Medicaid bill for childbirth and early care to illegal and legal immigrants combined, at $5.3 billion. That is one-fifth the total cost of building the border wall.

Even though illegal aliens are supposed to be ineligible for welfare, the report explains that Medicaid often pays for delivery and postpartum care for illegal immigrant mothers.

In what world does it make sense for American taxpayers to financially support foreign nationals who entered the country illegally, are unable to support themselves, and must rely on welfare programs that were designed to support American citizens? Keep in mind also that  every child born is guaranteed American citizenship by birthright, allowing the children to eventually sponsor their parents or other family members for expedited citizenship. Most Americans do not want to let illegal immigrants circumvent immigration laws like this, abusing welfare to cut in line.

This is a perfect pitch for Republicans to make to voters. The supposed party of border security, the rule of law, and fiscal responsibility ought to be aghast that illegal immigrants are costing taxpayers billions of dollars for childbirth services alone. Take into account the other negative consequences of illegal immigration — crime, welfare abuse, the loss of a cohesive American culture, the cheapening of American sovereignty — and you have a problem crying out for a solution.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., recently admitted that Republicans have been struggling to find a message for voters to rally around. Commenting on the boost Republicans are seeing in the polls following the smearing of Justice Brett Kavanaugh by the Democrats, McConnell thanked the Left for giving the Republican base the "kind of adrenaline shot we had not been able to figure out how achieve in any other way." One way to achieve grassroots energy is to champion an issue like illegal immigration, offer solutions, and then legislate.

Sadly, the preference for most Republicans has been to adopt President Trump's rhetoric on border security and the rule of law while surrendering Trump's policy priorities to the Democrats to avoid a fight on the issues before an election.

The Democrats' deplorable behavior over Kavanaugh's confirmation may have provided a short-term benefit for Republicans on the campaign trail. But absent a larger message on why Republicans should govern, supported by real policy achievements, eventually voters are going to give the socialists power.

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