While much of presidential hopeful Donald Trump's immigration rhetoric focuses on "dangerous" and "illegal" Mexican immigrants and "anchor babies," fewer "birthright" children have been born to U.S.-dwelling undocumented immigrants. Meanwhile, Chinese undocumented immigrants now surpass Mexican documented immigrants regarding the number of new immigrants in the U.S.

The number of infants born to undocumented immigrants in the U.S. has declined in recent years. In 2013, about 295,000 babies were born to undocumented immigrant parents, comprising 8 percent of the 3.9 million U.S. births that year, estimated Pew Research Center. In 2007, just six years before, that number stood at 370,000.

A large fraction of children born to U.S.-dwelling undocumented immigrants were born in the U.S., and those children inherit citizenship. This policy has led many, including Trump, to deem these children "anchor babies." In 2012, 4.5 million U.S.-born children below the age of 18 lived with undocumented immigrant parents. Also, there were roughly 775,000 young people who themselves were undocumented and lived with undocumented parents.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump happens to be one of many politicians who have called for the repeal of birthright citizenship, granted through the 14th Amendment, which was adopted in 1868 and offers an automatic right of citizenship to anyone born in the United States. When Pew Research polled Americans during February 2011, 57 percent opposed putting an end to birthright citizenship, while 39 percent favored making that change.

From 1980 to the mid-2000s, births to undocumented parents rose sharply. However, the number has dipped since then, impacting overall undocumented population trends. Approximately 11.3 million undocumented immigrants lived in the U.S. in March 2013, making up 4 percent of the population. However, births were higher for the undocumented population because large portions were women of childbearing years, and their birthrates were higher than the U.S. average.

More than in the past, the nation's undocumented immigrants have elected to be long-term residents of the U.S., and they're more likely to live with U.S.-born children, both minors and adults. Adults living with children make up 38 percent of undocumented adults. Comparably, in 2000, just 2.1 million undocumented immigrants (30 percent) lived with their U.S.-born children.

The new estimates are based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey and American Community Survey, which state that there were 355,000 births to undocumented parents. This data differs from a previous estimate for 2008, which says that there were 340,000 births to undocumented parents. That estimate utilized different methodology and data sources.

Also, earlier this year, the Census Bureau announced that China bypassed Mexico as the place of origin for most new immigrants in 2013, which proves that, while many children born to undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are Hispanic, not all of them are.

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