I don't understand all the whooping about "anchor babies." From what I can see, it is another urban legend. INS recently came thru here and busted a BUNCH of people. Several of them were young mothers. Their kids are US citizens, but the mother is getting deported. They can stay if they can find someone to take care of them, or they can return as US citizens at age 18, but the idea that the parents can stay just because their kids are citizens is simply not true.
That may be a recent change but I don't believe it is widespread.
Immigration attorneys can delay deportation of the mother until she qualifies for reunification even while her status in the USA is illegal.
Th problem for over a decade is illegal mothers having children that are at once given US citizenship, then enrolling them in WIC programs, medicaid, then preschool, food stamps, subsidized Sec. 8 housing, welfare TANF programs, then regular public school and so on.
What has happened is the emergence of an entire government unionized workforce in certain regions and districts to 'service' the illegals and their 'citizen' children.
Government employee unions have a vested interest in seeing that the anchor baby industry continue.
So it's more than just attempting to deport illegal mothers, it's also about cutting government.
I think cutting government is much harder to do. If Arnold Schwartzenegger gets his reform propositions passed, it should become easier.