On the April 30 broadcast of his 630 KHOW-AM show, host Peter Boyles persisted in stating the falsehood that when immigration officials discover that the parents of U.S.-born children are illegal immigrants, “they do not separate Mommy and the little boy or Mommy and the little girl” by deporting the parents. In fact, in addition to citing individual cases, Colorado Media Matters has noted that according to a November 2004 report in The New York Times, "[I]mmigration experts say there are tens of thousands of children every year who lose a parent to deportation." In attempting to dispute the issue, Boyles misrepresented as a news article “from the wire” a February 2006 opinion essay by avowed conservative Jack Ward.

Boyles repeated the myth of the so-called “anchor baby” while discussing a Los Angeles Times article -- “Immigrant families' choice: Go or split up” -- published April 29 on the front page of The Denver Post. The article profiled the case of Abel Munoz and Zulma Miranda, whom Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Kenneth Bagley ordered deported after they applied for permanent resident documents, or green cards. According to the article, the couple has three U.S.-born children, one of whom -- Marcos -- Boyles misidentified as “a Mexican citizen.” The article also noted federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency spokeswoman Virginia Kice's assertion that "[p]arents don't get special rights just because their children were born here." Boyles' initial refutation of the fact that children indeed are being separated from parents by deportation was to assert baselessly, “Now, you and I both know this doesn't happen.”

From the April 30 broadcast of 630 KHOW-AM's The Peter Boyles Show:

BOYLES: So, these people go to get a lawyer and go before a judge, federal judge Kenneth Bagley. They told Bagley that Marcos had health problems and couldn't receive adequate medical care in Mexico, albeit he is a Mexican citizen. In 2005 the judge ruled against the couple. Bagley said the parents would have, no doubt, face a period of emotional, financial adjustment. They had to sell their five-bedroom home and walk away from as much as $300,000. This is the case that was found. This is the case that was found to prove that they break families up. Well, I gotta tell you what: You gotta be able to start seeing through The Denver Post. They have to go to Los Angeles; they have to go to another newspaper and another reporter. And they find this family and they put them on the front. Now, you and I both know this doesn't happen.

[...]

BOYLES: And then yesterday in The Denver Post -- and they had to search, I'm sure, to find this -- big front-page story: “Immigrant families' choice; go or split up.” Parents who are in America illegally and face deportation must make the gut-wrenching decision whether to leave their children or -- take their children or leave them behind. Now, this is clearly in response -- I mean, I had somebody say it this morning, they're writing articles about your radio show. Look, folks, they don't throw people out of this country. The Denver Post had to go to L.A. to find a woman, or a writer, Anna Gorman from the L.A. Times, who finds this family. And if you read their family, they're -- they're, they're these unbelievably successful people who believe they can gain citizenship, so they get Larry the lawyer, and they pay Larry, and they submit this application, and they end up in court and they're ordered to return to their native Mexico. It's a goofy story, but you gotta believe this is the best that these people can do. Folks, it isn't happening. The so-called anchor babies, or drive-by citizens, or whatever they're called, automatic citizenship, whatever, whatever it is, it goes full time. So I would urge everybody, now The Denver Post is saying this is happening, and I'm, I'm sure they had to search to find it -- then I want you to start, all the -- all the -- all of you working in health care and people just around town. If you see a kid born, you know the baby's an anchor, or what the -- they call them jackpot babies [laughs], and that really has -- makes a lot of people angry. It's one of those things that Terry Anderson says. Go turn 'em in. You can bet $500 that nothing's going to happen. You know, there are laws -- “Oh, you know there's laws that say ...” But they're not enforced laws.

So illegal immigration in the United States is an act of moving or settling into this country with the intent to remain indefinitely in violation of immigration and nationality laws. Illegals come into this country without authorization. They don't enter with any authorization. They violate the terms of entry, and then if they have a child, the child becomes a citizen. That's -- that's a citizen. And for those people who continue to believe this nonsense -- because once the baby's born, then the baby qualifies for the benefits, because the baby is a citizen. A U.S.-born child cannot in fact sponsor his or her parents for legal immigration into the United States until that boy or girl becomes an adult. The illegal immigrant parents don't gain any additional rights, but the baby is born here, and what's it for? Well, then the baby gets the benefits. And they do not separate Mommy and the little boy or Mommy and the little girl. It's, I mean, it's -- people continue to say this is a lie. It's not a lie; it's, it's exactly what happens. Don't you think these people arranged to have their babies born in this country? Of course they do.

The Los Angeles Times article regarding the case of Munoz and Miranda that Boyles baselessly disputed also reported ICE's policy and practice in deporting illegal immigrant parents of U.S.-born children:

San Diego -- U.S. immigration authorities have stepped up arrests and deportations across the nation in recent months, forcing an increasing number of adults who are in the country illegally to make a difficult decision: take their U.S.-born children with them or leave them behind.

When immigration agents encounter U.S.-born children, they usually leave them in the temporary custody of a relative or a friend. Occasionally, agents agree to postpone the parents' deportation if no one can be found. In extraordinary circumstances, agents contact local child protective services.

About 3 million U.S.-born kids have at least one illegal-immigrant parent.

Parents don't get special rights just because their children were born here, said Virginia Kice, spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. If a judge orders them to leave the country, they have to leave.

Similarly, the New York Times reported in its November 24, 2004, article that although there are no official statistics on the breakup of families through deportation, the practice is widespread:

No one keeps track of exactly how many American children were left behind by the record 186,000 noncitizens expelled from the United States last year, or the 887,000 others required to make a “voluntary departure.” But immigration experts say there are tens of thousands of children every year who lose a parent to deportation. As the debate over immigration policy heats up, such broken families are troubling people on all sides, and challenging schools and mental health clinics in immigrant neighborhoods.

Officials at the Department of Homeland Security say they are simply enforcing laws adopted in 1996, which all but eliminated the discretion of immigration officers to consider family ties before enforcing an old order of removal.

“There are millions of people who are illegally in the United States, and it's unfortunate, when they're caught, seeing a family split up,” said William Strassberger, a spokesman for federal immigration services. “But the person has to be answerable for their actions.”

Federal officials said they leave time for parents to make arrangements for their children, and refer them to a social service agency if necessary. Many parents arrange to leave American-born children with relatives or friends; others, especially those who have no one to assume responsibility for a child, take the children along when they are expelled.

“People refer to that as a Sophie's choice situation,” he said. “Where the child is going to be is left up to the parent.”

As a practical matter, arrangements for a child left behind may be hasty at best, said Janet Sabel, who directs the immigration law unit of the Legal Aid Society. One mother about to be deported to Nicaragua last year was told to leave her four children with her husband, Ms. Sabel said. But the husband was an abusive drug user, and finally the mother persuaded the immigration officer to give her a few days to make other arrangements. A priest referred her to Legal Aid, which reopened the case, stopping the deportation.

“There's a happy ending to this story,” Ms. Sabel said, “but the fact is, there was total luck in her finding her way to us.”

Later in his broadcast, Boyles sought to bolster his falsehoods about anchor babies by suggesting that, according to a wire service news article, “Immigration officials ... seldom initiate deportation procedures against illegal aliens with anchor babies, so they remain here.”

BOYLES: And everybody has stories of these pregnant women crossing this border delivering anchor babies. The East Coast hospitals, by the way, have these South Koreans, and they call them “pregnant tourists.” And there's an estimated 5,000 South Korean anchor babies that are born in the United States every year. The time's come to reassess by -- drive-by citizenship. It is true. I mean, should these babies get automatic citizenship? No. Some parents come illegally and they have the baby. “Immigration officials” -- and I'm reading this from the wire -- “seldom initiate deportation procedures against illegal aliens with anchor babies, so they simply remain here. After all, what heartless bureaucrat,” they write, “would deport illegal immigrant parents and separate them from a newborn? Since anchor babies qualify for public welfare, access to medical care, schools, housing, food stamps, and all other benefits, the anchor babies do not provide immediate citizenship, but they do provide the anchor, hence the name the anchor baby. Do not kid yourself that it isn't happening.”

Although Boyles implied that his source was an article from a reputable news wire service, the information came from a February 4, 2006, Ward opinion piece titled “Should Anchor Babies Get Automatic Citizenship?” published on the conservative website NewsWithViews.com. A brief biography from another Ward piece identifies him as “the author of more than 300 articles in newspapers, periodicals, and Internet websites expressing Conservative principles and ideals.” According to his essay:

Some parents come legally as temporary visitors but others enter illegally. In either case anchor babies are granted immediate US citizenship. Immigration officials seldom initiate deportation proceedings against illegal aliens with anchor babies, so they simply remain here illegally. After all what heartless bureaucrat would deport illegal immigrant parents and separate them from their newborn?

Since anchor babies are considered citizens they instantly qualify for public welfare which means they gain access to free medical care, schools, housing, food stamps, and all the other benefits of our welfare state. While the anchor babies do not provide immediate citizenship to the alien family, they do provide an anchor for that family -- hence the name anchor baby.