The New York Times ran an article they probably felt was sympathetic to the illegals. A whole bunch of people on X didn’t take it that way.
“She made sure her baby was born an American,” the New York Times says about an illegal alien who illegally re-entered our country after a previous deportation, which is a felony, in order to give birth to a child.
The Times thought they were giving us a sympathetic story of a…
— Brandon Gill (@realBrandonGill) April 17, 2026
A 27-year-old immigrant from Honduras, she and her partner had crossed the southern border in the fall, when Ms. Acosta was about six months pregnant, after being deported from the United States the previous spring. The couple knew they were taking a chance when they began their 1,700-mile journey back to the United States. But to give their first child together a chance at American citizenship — to be born on U.S. soil — they had agreed that they would do anything.
In arguing at the Supreme Court this month to overturn birthright citizenship, which many see as central to the country’s identity, the Trump administration asserted that the practice acts as a “powerful pull factor,” encouraging people to cross the border illegally and give birth in the United States. With a majority of justices appearing likely to uphold birthright citizenship, Ms. Acosta’s experiences reflect the often fraught choices and questions inherent in the policy.
Ms. Acosta and the baby’s father, Jaime Murillo Padilla, made decisions that put themselves and their future child at risk — desperate for their son to achieve citizenship in a stable country rich with economic promise. They also encountered an immigration system ill equipped to deal with the consequences of a practice that creates strong incentives for noncitizens to have children in the United States, with detention policies and conditions that can put mothers and their babies in jeopardy.
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So, they were deported once when she was pregnant. They then snuck back across the border so their kid would be an American citizen. That child now has the same rights as any other American citizen. Something has to change.
“Every day we get up and we thank God for the opportunity of our son being born over there,” he said. “It’s the biggest win for us. All we can think about now is, your future is set.
“He is a U.S. citizen.”
The United States should not have kept the pregnant woman in custody until she had the baby. They should have deported her immediately so the child wasn’t born in America.
The United States has now paid to hold the parents in detention, the cost of the mother’s birthing care, the cost of the NICU for the premature child and frankly, probably welfare for the child once he was living with the grandmother.
An illegal alien who gives birth to a child on US soil can easily collect welfare benefits worth 40K annually. https://t.co/klXXExBgMz
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) April 17, 2026
America: the third world’s ATM, safety net, and back-up plan.
Not a country. Not a culture. Just one gigantic opportunity zone. https://t.co/AIa8IXxQCl
— Daniel Turner (@DanielTurnerPTF) April 17, 2026
The parents admit the whole family will never have to suffer because the one baby was born on American soil. That’s outrageous.
This is an insane story
If we allow this continue, we are not a serious country… https://t.co/i1kkHKAtPV
— Jason Robertson (@JRobFromMN) April 17, 2026
Justice Alito said it best, “If anyone who sneaks into the U.S. can have a child here and (simply by the act of being born here) automatically grant that child American citizenship — with full rights and no allegiance required — then who really controls who becomes a citizen? The… https://t.co/EkNF3NCada
— Bob McMahon (@RLMcMahon) April 17, 2026
Not mentioned in the tweet is the fact that the man already has three children in the United States for which he did this scam.
American citizenship is the highest privilege in the land, and anyone caught doing this should be punished to the furthest extent of the law.
— New American System (@newamsystem) April 17, 2026
Yes. The article said Dad had three children by other relationship(s). So, apparently he has several other mothers of his children. What a scam artist.
A truly hilarious attempt by the New York Times to draw up sympathy for an illegal alien couple that instead gave us Exhibit A for why SCOTUS needs to end birthright citizenship for illegals. https://t.co/gsd112BxrN
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) April 17, 2026
This story should be enough evidence for the Supreme Court.
Imagine reading this story and believing that this was the intention of the 14th amendment.https://t.co/ocHK0j0abt
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) April 17, 2026
This was not what the founders intended.
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