Today there was an article in the Los Angeles Times about a person born to undocumented parents. It got me thinking about what Anchor Babies actually are.I guess most people don't know that if you are undocumented, having a baby in the U.S. DOES NOT help you get your papers. You have to wait until they are adults.... that is a LONG LONG time. But I guess people just want to be nasty and find ways to insult others. I was kind of surprised that Sen. Lindsay Graham went that low when he said he wanted to stop so many people having Anchor Babies (I know he's a Republican, but isn't usually as nasty as many others). He has to know better that Anchor Babies aren't for real. Yes, all babies born in the U.S. do get automatic citizenship, but that is a law that has been around a long time and would cause all sorts of problems if we changed it. I think we would have to change the U.S. Constitution to get that law rescinded.
What is an anchor baby anyway?
1. A baby that people think "solidifies a marriage" - (lots of people have those).
2. A baby to get someone to marry you (not as popular anymore, but still happens).
3. A baby so people won't think you are a self centered creep.
4. A baby to replicate yourself and show off to your family and neighbors.
5. A baby to make you feel like you are a "complete woman" --- people won't admit it as much anymore, just ask a few women who are trying to get pregnant.
The babies born to undocumented people these days are in a tough spot. As they grow, they realize that their parents could disappear at any moment, depending on the nativist currents in their city. Its not fun to worry that your parents might be deported, or that your parents won't have a retirement plan because they have no social security number.
For those of you who get really riled up about anchor babies, try not to envy them. They are getting no basket of cherries.
Try some empathy.
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I was an 'anchor baby'
LA Times
September 8
Merely having a baby on American soil doesn't doesn't give foreign parents a foothold, as 14th Amendment opponents often imply...link
2 comments:
"Try some empathy", my ass.
Federal law (not the Constitution) gives citizenship to an estimated minimum 400,000 babies each year who don’t have even one parent who is a U.S. citizen or permanent legal immigrant. This is a huge impediment to efforts to stabilize U.S. population to allow for environmental sustainability. And it is a great incentive for more illegal immigration.
Each of these babies becomes an anchor who retards deportation of unlawfully present parents--and who eventually will be an anchor for entire families and villages as chain migration leads to the immigration of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Birthright citizenship is an antiquated practice that has been abandoned by nearly all wealthy nations and emerging nations (recently India and Indonesia) and by the majority of poor nations.
The Supreme Court has ruled only that the Constitution requires babies of legal immigrants be U.S. citizens. It is time to join the modern world, pass H.R. 1868 (Birthright Citizenship Act of 2009), and limit citizenship to babies who have at least one parent who is a citizen or legal immigrant."
The U.S. citizen child of an undocumented person DOES NOT "retard deportation of unlawfully present parents"
It is true, that in 21 years, that child could sponsor family members.... But for there is no immediate or even long term benefit. 21 years is a very long time.
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