Study finds increase in Georgians born to immigrants.

The Associated Press reports:

Nearly a fifth of all babies born in Georgia are the children of immigrant mothers, according to a study by a group that supports stronger immigration control.

And of those births, 43 percent of the mothers were illegal immigrants, meaning 8 percent of the state's births are to illegal immigrants, the study, which was released Thursday, said.

Gwinnett County had one of the largest increases - going from 9.3 percent in 1990 to 41 percent in 2002.

And the number of births by illegal immigrants makes enforcement of immigration laws harder . . . . Since those children are automatically U.S. citizens, they can stay permanently and could be a factor in keeping their parents from being deported.

Hispanic and immigrant advocates criticized the study as a partisan attack on immigrants and a veiled criticism of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees birthright citizenship.

Nationally, the study found that in 2002, 23 percent of all American births were to immigrant mothers, both legal and illegal. Of those children, 45 percent were born to Mexican mothers.