Anchor baby

{{Immigration}}
'''Anchor baby''' is a derogatory slur used to describe the United States-born children of [[illegal immigrant]]s.

==Fourteenth amendment==
The [[Fourteenth_Amendment#Citizenship_Clause|Citizenship Clause]] of the 14th amendment to the [[US Constitution]] states: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." US federal law has interpreted this as ''[[jus soli]]'': to allow anyone born in the US to have citizenship through [[birth]]. (Shhh… don't tell the [[birther|birthers]]!) The [[US Supreme Court]] upheld this principle in ''United States v. Wong Kim Ark''.<ref>[http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0169_0649_ZS.html United States v. Wong Kim Ark]. Cornell Law School.</ref> Senator Jacob Howard (Republican of [[Michigan]]) stated on the Senate floor during debate that the clause "will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers accredited to the Government of the United States, but will include every other class of persons."<ref>Justin Berrier (August 13, 2010). [https://web.archive.org/web/20100923132027/http://mediamatters.org/research/201008130024 "Fox promotes false claim that 14th Amendment was not meant to apply to children of immigrants"]. ''Media Matters for America''.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150415113157/http://memory.loc.gov/ll/llcg/073/0000/00122890.tif "Reconstruction"]. ''The Congressional Globe'': May 30, 1866, p. 2890.</ref>

==Etymology==
In the 1980s, [[Vietnam]]ese refugees were known as "boat people", and their children were nicknamed "anchor children", which originated from a ''Los Angeles Times Magazine'' article in 1987.<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/1987-12-13/magazine/tm-28306_1_schooling "A Profile of a Lost Generation"], ''Los Angeles Times Magazine'', Dec. 13, 1987.</ref>

A ''Providence Journal'' article in 1997 quoted Dan Stein, executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, calling US-born children of illegal aliens "anchor babies".<ref>Rowland, Christopher, "Welfare official objects to new immigration law". ''Providence Journal'': January 7, 1997. "Dan Stein, executive director of the Washington-based Federation for American Immigration Reform… contends undocumented aliens should not be allowed to benefit because they have children born in this country. Turning a blind eye to such issues, Stein asserted, encourages immigrant families to conceive 'anchor babies' so they can remain in this country and collect benefits."</ref>

However, in the mid-2000s, as [[illegal immigration]] became a hot-button political issue, this term became a rallying call for stronger border security, as in this 2006 ''Chicago Tribune'' column by Eric Zorn:

{{cquote|…[Elvira] Arellano's not helping things. She's not a particularly good cause célèbre, as these things go. She has twice entered the country illegally, has been convicted of carrying a false Social Security card, speaks very poor English for someone who has been in this country nine years and she plays her so-called "anchor baby," a 7-year-old son who is a U.S. citizen because he was born here, as her trump card.|||Eric Zorn<ref>Eric Zorn, [https://web.archive.org/web/20140330080535/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2006-08-17/news/0608170077_1_elvira-arellano-arrest-and-deportation-rosa-parks "Deportation standoff not helping cause"], ''Chicago Tribune'', Aug. 17, 2006.</ref>}}

In the ''Double-Tongued Dictionary'', editor Grant Barrett commented that the term "anchor baby" "is used for ''any'' immigrant" because: "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]]."<ref>[http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/anchor_baby/ Double Tongued Dictionary: Anchor Baby]. Barrett wrote the second comment.</ref>

==Explain these people then, Republicans==
If it's such a great idea to amend the Constitution so that ''not'' every child born in the US is automatically a citizen, then remember that these [[Republican]] and [[conservative]] figures are anchor babies: 
*[[Michelle Malkin]], pundit/blogger/commentator: parents were immigrants from the [[Philippines]]<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20071013191746/http://booknotes.org/Transcript/?ProgramID=1705 C-SPAN Booknotes interview from 2002]</ref>
*Susana Martinez, former governor of [[New Mexico]] (2011-2019): Martinez admitted in September 2011 that her grandparents were illegal immigrants.<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/09/us-governor-grandparents-news-mexico-idUSTRE78861A20110909 N.M. governor says grandparents were illegal immigrants] (Reuters, Sept. 9, 2011)</ref> If conservatives had had their way during the 20<sup>th</sup> century, Martinez would be an "anchor grandbaby" and lack US citizenship despite being born in the US.
*[[Mitt Romney]], former governor of [[Massachusetts]] (2003-2007) and presidential candidate in 2008 and 2012: father George W. Romney was born in [[Mexico]] to [[Mormon]] parents whose parents escaped the US to practice [[polygamy]] in Mexico. However, George's parents were monogamous and US citizens, and when George was born, the law made him a US but not Mexican citizen by birth. The Romney family migrated to [[Texas]] when George was five.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150416201501/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-11-06/business/sns-rt-usa-campaignmexico-pix-tvl1e8m70ot-20121106_1_mitt-romney-s-mormon-romney-and-obama-george-romney Romney's Mexican Cousins]</ref> The Romneys were on government assistance for a few months before moving to [[California]], and George's father was a carpenter and farmer.<ref>{{wpa|George_W._Romney#Early_life_and_background|George W. Romney's Early life and background}}</ref> Reaction from the conservatives complaining about those other smelly Mexicans taking jobs from Americans and [[welfare]] from US citizens:
{{crickets}}
*[[Michael Savage]], [[talk radio]] host: his parents were immigrants from [[Russia]], but Michael has made a career from screaming and howling about illegal and [[Third World]] immigration in the name of "borders, language, culture".
*[[Marco Rubio]], U.S. senator: his parents were immigrants from [[Cuba]], and did not naturalize as citizens until Rubio was five years old. Rubio has recently supported restricting birthright citizenship, believing it "wasn't the intention of the framers".

==See also==
*[[Illegal immigration]]
*[[Myths and facts about immigration to the United States]]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Law]]
[[Category:Culture]]
[[Category:Human rights]]
[[Category:Immigration]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:Snarl words]]
[[Category:United States politics]]

Categories: Law, Culture, Human rights, Immigration, Racism, Snarl words, United States politics