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"'''Anchor baby'''" is a term used by [[immigration reduction]]ists in the [[United States]] to describe a child born in the U.S. to [[illegal aliens]]. It is generally used as a derogatory reference to the supposed role of the child, who as a [[U.S. citizen]] through the legal principle of ''[[jus soli]],'' may facilitate immigration for relatives through [[family reunification]].<ref name="INA">{{cite web|url=http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-29/0-0-0-914.html|accessdate=May 29, 2010|title=Immigration and Nationality Act|publisher=Department of Homeland Security, USCIS}}</ref><ref name="weekinreview">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/weekinreview/24barrett.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss |title=Buzzwords: Glossary|date= December 24, 2006 |first=Grant|last=Barrett|authorlink=Grant Barrett|work= [[New York Times]] |quote='''anchor baby:''' a derogatory term for a child born in the United States to an immigrant. Since these children automatically qualify as American citizens, they can later act as a sponsor for other family members.}}</ref><ref name="Berestein">{{cite news|first=Leslie |last=Berestein|date=April 2, 2006 |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20060402-9999-1n2tide.html |work=San Diego Union-Tribune|title=Immigration bill turned quiet voices into a roar}}</ref><ref name="chicagotribune2">{{cite news|url=http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2006/08/sinking_anchor_.html |title=Sinking 'Anchor Babies|date= August 18, 2006|first=Eric|last=Zorn|authorlink= Eric Zorn|work= [[Chicago Tribune]] |quote='They use it to spark resentment against immigrants,' Rivlin said of his ideological foes. 'They use it to make these children sound non-human.' To me, that's good enough reason to regret having used it and to decide not to use it in the future.}}</ref><ref name="doubletongue">{{cite web|url=http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/anchor_baby/ |title=Double Tongued Dictionary|editor=Barrett, Grant |quote= '''Anchor baby:''' ''n.'' a child born of an immigrant in the United States, said to be a device by which a family can find legal foothold in the US, since those children are automatically allowed to choose American citizenship. Also '''anchor child''', a very young immigrant who will later sponsor citizenship for family members who are still abroad.}}</ref><ref name="Berestein"/> Family reunification, or family-based immigration, in the USA is a lengthy process and limited to categories prescribed by provisions of the [[Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965]].<ref name="INA"/> The term "anchor baby" is a misnomer to the extent that it implies that by having a baby in the US, temporary or illegal immigrants can "anchor" themselves in the US. In fact, a US citizen child cannot file for a US visa for its parents until the child is 21 years of age, and upon reaching that age the child must also be earning at least 125% of the US poverty threshold to be able to apply. <ref name="ÜSCISI864P">{{cite web |url=http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864p.pdf |title=Poverty Guidelines |date=August 9, 2010 |work=Form I-864P |publisher=US Citizenship and Immigration Service |accessdate=August 26, 2010}}</ref> Thus, temporary or illegal immigrants who have babies in the US have no means of remaining legally in the US; they must return home and wait until the child reaches age 21.
"'''Anchor baby'''" is a term used by [[immigration reduction]]ists in the [[United States]] to describe a child born in the U.S. to [[illegal aliens]]. It is generally used as a derogatory reference to the supposed role of the child, who as a [[U.S. citizen]] through the legal principle of ''[[jus soli]],'' may facilitate immigration for relatives through [[family reunification]].<ref name="INA">{{cite web|url=http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-29/0-0-0-914.html|accessdate=May 29, 2010|title=Immigration and Nationality Act|publisher=Department of Homeland Security, USCIS}}</ref><ref name="weekinreview">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/weekinreview/24barrett.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss |title=Buzzwords: Glossary|date= December 24, 2006 |first=Grant|last=Barrett|authorlink=Grant Barrett|work= [[New York Times]] |quote='''anchor baby:''' a derogatory term for a child born in the United States to an immigrant. Since these children automatically qualify as American citizens, they can later act as a sponsor for other family members.}}</ref><ref name="Berestein">{{cite news|first=Leslie |last=Berestein|date=April 2, 2006 |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20060402-9999-1n2tide.html |work=San Diego Union-Tribune|title=Immigration bill turned quiet voices into a roar}}</ref><ref name="chicagotribune2">{{cite news|url=http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2006/08/sinking_anchor_.html |title=Sinking 'Anchor Babies|date= August 18, 2006|first=Eric|last=Zorn|authorlink= Eric Zorn|work= [[Chicago Tribune]] |quote='They use it to spark resentment against immigrants,' Rivlin said of his ideological foes. 'They use it to make these children sound non-human.' To me, that's good enough reason to regret having used it and to decide not to use it in the future.}}</ref><ref name="doubletongue">{{cite web|url=http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/anchor_baby/ |title=Double Tongued Dictionary|editor=Barrett, Grant |quote= '''Anchor baby:''' ''n.'' a child born of an immigrant in the United States, said to be a device by which a family can find legal foothold in the US, since those children are automatically allowed to choose American citizenship. Also '''anchor child''', a very young immigrant who will later sponsor citizenship for family members who are still abroad.}}</ref><ref name="Berestein"/> Family reunification, or family-based immigration, in the USA is a lengthy process and limited to categories prescribed by provisions of the [[Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965]].<ref name="INA"/> The term "anchor baby" is a misnomer to the extent that it implies that by having a baby in the US, temporary or illegal immigrants can "anchor" themselves in the US. In fact, a US citizen child cannot file for a US visa for its parents until the child is 21 years of age, and upon reaching that age the child must also be earning at least 125% of the US poverty threshold to be able to apply. <ref name="USCISI864P">{{cite web |url=http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864p.pdf |title=Poverty Guidelines |date=August 9, 2010 |work=Form I-864P |publisher=US Citizenship and Immigration Service |accessdate=August 26, 2010}}</ref> Thus, temporary or illegal immigrants who have babies in the US have no means of remaining legally in the US; they must return home and wait until the child reaches age 21. Illegal immigrants usually cannot immigrate even after the child turns 21 since they usually face a multi-year or lifetime ban from immigration to the USA regardless of sponsorship<ref name="tenyearban">{{cite web|url=http://immigration.change.org/blog/view/10-year_bars_split_up_families |title=10-Year Bars Split Up Families |author=Dave Bennion |publisher=change.com | date=July 28, 2009 |accessdate=August 26, 2010}}</ref>.


==History and usage==
==History and usage==

Revision as of 13:33, 26 August 2010

"Anchor baby" is a term used by immigration reductionists in the United States to describe a child born in the U.S. to illegal aliens. It is generally used as a derogatory reference to the supposed role of the child, who as a U.S. citizen through the legal principle of jus soli, may facilitate immigration for relatives through family reunification.[1][2][3][4][5][3] Family reunification, or family-based immigration, in the USA is a lengthy process and limited to categories prescribed by provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.[1] The term "anchor baby" is a misnomer to the extent that it implies that by having a baby in the US, temporary or illegal immigrants can "anchor" themselves in the US. In fact, a US citizen child cannot file for a US visa for its parents until the child is 21 years of age, and upon reaching that age the child must also be earning at least 125% of the US poverty threshold to be able to apply. [6] Thus, temporary or illegal immigrants who have babies in the US have no means of remaining legally in the US; they must return home and wait until the child reaches age 21. Illegal immigrants usually cannot immigrate even after the child turns 21 since they usually face a multi-year or lifetime ban from immigration to the USA regardless of sponsorship[7].

History and usage

A related term, "anchor child", referring in this case to very young immigrants who will later sponsor immigration for family members who are still abroad[5], was used in reference to Vietnamese boat people in the early 1980s and early 1990s.[8][9]

According to the Double-Tongued Dictionary, edited by American lexicographer Grant Barrett, the term "anchor baby" means "a child born of an immigrant in the United States, said to be a device by which a family can find legal foothold in the US, since those children are automatically allowed to choose United States citizenship."[5] In response to a reader's proposed alternate definition seeking to limit the definition of the term to children of illegal immigrants, Grant Barrett states:

...it is used for *any* immigrant. Those who use this term tend to be opposed to *all* immigration and immigrants, not illegal immigration, especially those who use their immigration stance as a mask for racism and xenophobia.[5]

Dictionary editor Barrett, however, apparently misapprehended the point of a reader objection to which he gave the response above. The objection was to Barret's "... automatically allowed to choose" assertion. The reader objecting had said, "no, it is automatic; they do not choose".[10]

The term has been applied with prejudice against Mexican Americans and other Latinos in general, even if their parents are U.S. citizens. For example, Ruben Navarrette Jr., a Mexican American columnist and editorial board member of The San Diego Union-Tribune and nationally syndicated columnist with the Washington Post Writers Group, reported being called an "anchor baby" in a 2007 column of his, titled Hate in the Immigration Debate":[10]

And, as I travel the country speaking to Hispanic groups, one thing I hear is that “anti-immigrant” rapidly morphed into “anti-Hispanic” and specifically “anti-Mexican.”

I get evidence of that every day in my e-mail. Just last week, after I defended the prosecution of two Border Patrol agents, a reader called me a “dirty Latino” who needs to get “back to Mexico.” Another writer called me an “anchor baby” – the term used by nativists to describe the children of illegal immigrants born in the United States.

Never mind that I was born in the United States and my parents were born in the United States. What I see here is racism.

Hispanic activist group the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) reports usage of the term towards pregnant Latinas (in reference to the child, as captured on video:)[11][12]

July 7th, 2007 – Fallbrook, CA: As a funeral service gets underway at the nearby Church, a Minuteman yells "pick your slaves" to prospective day laborer employers and attempts to provoke an activist. A Minutewoman can be heard saying "anchor baby on the way" to a Latina activist who is pregnant.

Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin — herself born in the United States to alien parents who were legally, temporarily in the U.S. at the time[13] — has asserted that "the custom of granting automatic citizenship at birth to children of tourists and temporary workers such as Yaser Esam Hamdi, tourists, and to countless 'anchor babies' delivered by illegal aliens on American soil, undermines the integrity of citizenship—not to mention national security".[14]

Controversies

The term "anchor baby" assumes that having a US citizen child confers immigration benefits on the parents and extended family. This is generally a false assumption, as immigration law does not allow a US citizen child to sponsor his/her parents until he/she turns 21. Once the child turns 18, immigration law also allows a US citizen child to sponsor his/her own siblings with a 15 to 23 year quota delay. Immigration law does not provide categories for any other relatives that would apply in this situation. In addition, if the parents are illegal immigrants, they are usually barred from immigration despite having a sponsor.[1][15]

In the public debate surrounding "anchor babies", it is also frequently assumed that an "anchor baby" would be beneficial in deportation proceedings. Such benefits do not exist except in the very rare case of extreme and profound hardship on the child. Approximately 88,000 parents of US citizen children have been deported in the past ten years.[16] Federal appellate courts and the Supreme Court have upheld the refusal by the Immigration and Naturalization Service or Immigration and Customs Enforcement to stay the deportation of illegal immigrants merely on the grounds that they have U.S.-citizen, minor children.[17]

On August 17, 2006, Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn used the term "anchor baby" in reference to Saul Arellano, in a column critical of his mother, who had been given sanctuary at a Chicago church, and advocating her arrest and deportation on immigration-related charges.[18] After receiving two complaints, the next day Eric Zorn stated in his defense in his Chicago Tribune blog that the term had appeared in newspaper stories since 1997, "usually softened by quotations as in my column", and stated that he regretted having used the term in his column and promised not to use it again in the future.

On August 23, 2007, the San Diego, California-area North County Times came under criticism from one of its own former columnists, Raoul Lowery Contreras, in a column titled "'Anchor babies' is hate speech", for allowing the term "anchor baby" to be printed in letters and opinion pieces.[19]

In a September 3, 2008, debate in Danville, Virginia, Republican Congressman Virgil Goode declared that the greatest threat to America's national security was "anchor babies". He discussed H.R. 1940, the "Birthright Citizenship Act of 2007"[20] that would have amended the Immigration and Nationality Act to consider a person born in the United States "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States for citizenship at birth purposes if the person is born in the United States of parents one of whom is (1) a U.S. citizen or national; (2) a lawful permanent-resident alien whose residence is in the United States; or (3) an alien performing active service in the U.S. armed forces. Goode argued that H.R. 1940 would "end the anchor baby situation", and he blamed Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the fact that H.R. 1940 has not gone anywhere; his opponent, Democrat Tom Perriello, noted that similar legislation did not even make it out of committee when the Republicans controlled Congress, and that the Republican leadership, including then-President George W. Bush and then-Republican Presidential nominee John McCain, did not support the bill either.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Immigration and Nationality Act". Department of Homeland Security, USCIS. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
  2. ^ Barrett, Grant (December 24, 2006). "Buzzwords: Glossary". New York Times. anchor baby: a derogatory term for a child born in the United States to an immigrant. Since these children automatically qualify as American citizens, they can later act as a sponsor for other family members.
  3. ^ a b Berestein, Leslie (April 2, 2006). "Immigration bill turned quiet voices into a roar". San Diego Union-Tribune.
  4. ^ Zorn, Eric (August 18, 2006). "Sinking 'Anchor Babies". Chicago Tribune. 'They use it to spark resentment against immigrants,' Rivlin said of his ideological foes. 'They use it to make these children sound non-human.' To me, that's good enough reason to regret having used it and to decide not to use it in the future.
  5. ^ a b c d Barrett, Grant (ed.). "Double Tongued Dictionary". Anchor baby: n. a child born of an immigrant in the United States, said to be a device by which a family can find legal foothold in the US, since those children are automatically allowed to choose American citizenship. Also anchor child, a very young immigrant who will later sponsor citizenship for family members who are still abroad.
  6. ^ "Poverty Guidelines" (PDF). Form I-864P. US Citizenship and Immigration Service. August 9, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  7. ^ Dave Bennion (July 28, 2009). "10-Year Bars Split Up Families". change.com. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  8. ^ "A Profile of a Lost Generation". Los Angeles Times Magazine. December 13, 1987. p. 12. They are "anchor children," saddled with the extra burden of having to attain a financial foothold in America to sponsor family members who remain in Vietnam.
  9. ^ Kelly, Frances (June 2, 1991). "Sympathy for the boat people is wearing thin". Toronto Star. p. H2. Known as "anchor" children, aid workers say the youngsters are put on boats by families who hope they'll be resettled in the United States or Canada and can then apply to have their families join them.
  10. ^ a b Navarrette Jr., Ruben (July 29, 2007). "Hate in the Immigration Debate". San Diego Union-Tribune.
  11. ^ Minutemen protest near a church on YouTube
  12. ^ "We can Stop the Hate: Hate Flashpoints". National Council of La Raza.
  13. ^ Nahm, H Y. "Michelle Malkin: The Radical Right's Asian Pitbull". Goldsea Asian American. Retrieved July 16, 2009.
  14. ^ Malkin, Michelle (July 4, 2003). "What makes an American?". Jewish World Review.
  15. ^ "Department of State Visa Bulletin". May 29, 2010.
  16. ^ Watanabe, Teresa (April 1, 2010). "Report criticizes increased deportation of legal immigrant parents". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
  17. ^ Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Jong Ha Wang, 450 U.S. 139 (U.S. Supreme Court March 2, 1981).
  18. ^ Zorn, Eric (August 17, 2006). "Deportation Standoff Not helping Cause". Chicago Tribune.
  19. ^ Contreras, Raoul Lowery (August 23, 2007). "'Anchor babies' is hate speech". North County Times.
  20. ^ H.R. 1940, from http://thomas.loc.gov
  21. ^ Perriello on Immigration; Goode on 'Anchor Babies'. Danville, Va. September 3, 2008.
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