The number of U.S. citizen babies - babies born in the U.S. - to at least one parent who is not in the country legally has dropped, reported Pew Research on Friday.
About 295,000 or 8 percent of the 1.3 million babies born in 2013 had at least one unauthorized parent, compared to 370,000 or 9 percent of births in 2007.
The drop in births corresponds to the decline in the number of undocumented immigrants and immigration to the country. In recent years, the flow of immigrants into the U.S. from Mexico is at what is called net zero, essentially a standstill due to changing economies and increased border security.
Despite these dwindling numbers, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and other GOP candidates have been raising the issue of repealing birthright citizenship - enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution since 1868 - that guarantees citizenship to babies born in U.S. soil despite the parents' legal status. The debate and the use of the pejorative term "anchor babies" has been making recent headlines.
As of March 2013, there were about 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., making up about 4 percent of the country's total population.