Anchor baby#usage
{{Short description|Child with birthright citizenship who helps relatives immigrate}}
{{for|the 2010 film|Anchor Baby (film){{!}}Anchor Baby (film)}}
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{{Immigration sidebar}}
Anchor baby is a term—regarded by some as a pejorative{{cite book|last=Chavez|first=Leo|title=The Latino Threat: Constructing Immigrants, Citizens, and the Nation, Second Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-CTlKu6In3cC&pg=PA203|access-date=21 August 2015|date=2013-04-17|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=9780804786188|pages=203–}}{{cite book|last1=Gallagher|first1=Charles A.|last2=Lippard|first2=Cameron D.|title=Race and Racism in the United States: An Encyclopedia of the American Mosaic: An Encyclopedia of the American Mosaic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GQlvBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA50|access-date=21 August 2015|date=2014-06-24|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781440803468|pages=50–}}—referring to a child born to non-citizen parents in a country that has birthright citizenship, which will therefore help the parents and other family members gain citizenship or legal residency{{cite encyclopedia |title=Anchor Baby |encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/anchor-baby |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705063955/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/anchor-baby |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 5, 2013 |date=1 November 2009}} and/or avoid deportation in said country. In the U.S., the term is generally used as a derogatory reference to the supposed role of the child, who automatically qualifies as an American citizen under jus soli and the rights guaranteed in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/weekinreview/24barrett.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss |title=Buzzwords: Glossary|date= December 24, 2006 |first=Grant|last=Barrett|author-link=Grant Barrett|work= The 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.}}{{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|author-link= 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.}}{{cite web|url=https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/family/family-preference.html|title=Family-based Immigrant Visas|publisher=U.S. Department of State|quote=U.S. citizens must be age 21 or older to file petitions for siblings or parents.|access-date=August 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907235704/http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/family/family-preference.html|archive-date=2015-09-07|url-status=dead}} The term is also often used in the context of the debate over illegal immigration to the United States.{{cite web|url=http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/anchor_baby/ |title=anchor baby|work=Double Tongued Dictionary |date=27 November 2006|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.}} A similar term, "passport baby", has been used in Canada for children born through so-called "maternity" or "birth tourism".{{cite news|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/05/passport-babies-canada/ |title=Tory crackdown on 'birth tourists' will eliminate Canadian passport babies |publisher=National Post |access-date=2013-11-20}}{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/birth-tourism-may-change-citizenship-rules-1.1164914 |title='Birth tourism' may change citizenship rules |publisher=CBC News |date=2012-03-05 |access-date=2013-11-20 |first=Prithi |last=Yelaja}}
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", was used in reference to Vietnamese boat people from about 1987.{{cite news|title=A Profile of a Lost Generation|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-13-tm-28306-story.html|work= Los Angeles Times Magazine|date= December 13, 1987| page =12|quote=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.}}{{cite news|title=Sympathy for the boat people is wearing thin|first= Frances |last=Kelly|work= Toronto Star|date= June 2, 1991| page =H2|quote= 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.}}{{citation|title=New Media and the 'Anchor Baby' Boom|journal = Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication|volume = 17|pages = 60–76|last1=Ignatow|first1=Gabe|last2=Williams|first2=Alexander|date=17 October 2011|doi=10.1111/j.1083-6101.2011.01557.x|doi-access=free}}{{cite web |url= http://www.americandialect.org/WOTY-noms-Barrett.pdf |title= 2006 Word of the Year Nominations |date= December 24, 2006 |work= americandialect.org|publisher= American Dialect Society |access-date=March 25, 2012}} In 2002 in the Irish High Court, Bill Shipsey used the term to refer to an Irish-born child whose family were his clients; in the 2003 Supreme Court judgment upholding the parents' deportation, Adrian Hardiman commented on the novelty of both the term and concomitant argument.{{cite web |title=[2003] IESC 3 : Lobe & ors -v- Minister for Justice Equality and Law Reform; Osayande & anor -v- Minister for Justice Equality and Law Reform & ors |work=Judgments & Determinations |url=http://www.courts.ie/Judgments.nsf/0/B36C7582BE39870480256DEB005A6802 |publisher=Courts Service of Ireland |access-date=12 November 2018 |first=Adrian |last=Hardiman |author-link=Adrian Hardiman |pages=§§10, 22–23, 68–70, 119 }}; {{cite web |last1=McGuinness |author-link=Catherine McGuinness |first1=Catherine |title=Lobe & ors -v- Minister for Justice Equality and Law Reform; Osayande & anor -v- Minister for Justice Equality and Law Reform & ors |url=http://www.courts.ie/Judgments.nsf/0/B12E96C633724A6C80256DEB005A22AD |website=Judgments & Determinations |publisher=Courts Service of Ireland |access-date=12 November 2018}} (In Ireland jus soli citizenship was abolished in 2004.)
"Anchor baby" appeared in print in 1996, but remained relatively obscure until 2006, when it found new prominence amid the increased focus on the immigration debate in the United States.{{cite news |title= Anchor Baby: A Term Redefined as a Slur|author= Julia Preston |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/09/us/anchor-baby-a-term-redefined-as-a-slur.html?_r=2|newspaper= The New York Times |date= December 8, 2011|access-date=January 17, 2012}} The term is generally considered pejorative.{{Cite web|title = anchor baby: definition of anchor baby in Oxford dictionary (American English) (US)|url = http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/anchor-baby|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140729234304/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/anchor-baby|url-status = dead|archive-date = July 29, 2014|website = www.oxforddictionaries.com|access-date = 2015-11-05}} Analysis of news usage, internet links, and search engine rankings indicate that Fox News and Newsmax were pivotal in popularizing the term in the mid and late 2000s.{{cite journal |last1=Ignatow |first1=Gabe |last2=Williams |first2=Alexander T. |title=New Media and the 'Anchor Baby' Boom |journal=Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication |date=October 2011 |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=60–76 |doi=10.1111/j.1083-6101.2011.01557.x|quote=We argue that the main source of the anchor baby boom of, approximately, 2007‐10 is the segmented news site newsmax
n. Offensive Used as a disparaging term for a child born to a noncitizen mother in a country that grants automatic citizenship to children born on its soil, especially when the child's birthplace is thought to have been chosen in order to improve the mother's or other relatives' chances of securing eventual citizenship.
The decision to revise the definition led to some criticism from immigration opponents, such as the Center for Immigration Studies and the Federation for American Immigration Reform.{{cite web
| url =http://cis.org/north/anchor-baby-mechanisms
| title =Just How Does an Anchor Baby Anchor the Illegal Alien Parent?
| last =North
| first =David
| date =16 January 2011
| website =Center for Immigration Studies
| access-date =27 November 2016
| quote =We should adjust our policies – and let the world know we have done so – to minimize the benefits illegal alien parents get for having anchor babies in the U.S. Exactly how the law should be changed is another question, to be addressed later, but one thing is immediately clear: there ought to be a firm administrative policy of denying entrance to very pregnant tourists and border crossers – and there is no such policy at the moment. }}
In 2012, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, in a meeting designed to promote the 2010 Utah Compact declaration as a model for a federal government approach to immigration, said that "The use of the word 'anchor baby' when we're talking about a child of God is offensive."{{cite news | url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865568109/Drafter-of-Utah-Compact-calls-document-gold-standard-for-fixing-nations-immigration-problems.html?s_cid=Email-2 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304044948/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865568109/Drafter-of-Utah-Compact-calls-document-gold-standard-for-fixing-nations-immigration-problems.html?s_cid=Email-2 | url-status=dead | archive-date=March 4, 2016 | title=Drafter of Utah Compact calls document 'gold standard' for fixing nation's immigration problems | newspaper=Deseret News | date=December 4, 2012}}
Several journalists and public figures in the United States have been criticized for using the term anchor baby.{{cite news |last=Zorn |first=Eric |author-link=Eric Zorn |date=August 17, 2006 |title=Deportation Standoff Not helping Cause |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2006/08/17/deportation-standoff-not-helping-cause/ |work=Chicago Tribune}}{{cite news |last=Contreras |first=Raoul Lowery |date=August 23, 2007 |title='Anchor babies' is hate speech |url=http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/08/24/opinion/commentary/19_38_298_23_07.txt |work=North County Times}}{{cite news |last=Parker |first=Kolten |date=April 16, 2014 |title=Watch: Julián Castro, Dan Patrick debate |url=http://blog.chron.com/texaspolitics/2014/04/watch-live-julian-castro-dan-patrick-debate/ |work=Houston Chronicle}}{{cite news |date=November 14, 2014 |title=Transcript of November 14, 2014 broadcast |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1411/14/nday.05.html |work=CNN}} In Australia in 2019, then-Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton used "anchor babies" to label the two Australian-born children of the Murugappan asylum seeker family,{{Cite web |date=12 September 2019 |title=Peter Dutton says Biloela Tamil children are 'anchor babies' used to help case |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/12/peter-dutton-says-biloela-tamil-children-are-anchor-babies-used-to-help-case |website=TheGuardian.com}}{{Cite web |date=12 September 2019 |title=Peter Dutton labels Tamil family children 'anchor babies' |url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/peter-dutton-labels-biloela-kids-anchor-babies-20190912-p52qos.html}} which opposition politician Kristina Keneally said was an attempt to import American debates that were not relevant to Australia.{{cite news |date=13 September 2019 |title=Why Peter Dutton's use of the term 'anchor babies' is causing uproar |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/why-peter-duttons-use-of-the-term-anchor-babies-is-causing-uproar/92cxgcjxz |access-date=16 June 2022 |publisher=SBS}}
=Maternity tourism industry=
{{Main|Birth tourism}}
{{as of|2015}}, Los Angeles is considered the center of the maternity tourism industry, which caters mostly to wealthy Asian women;{{cite web| url = http://www.kulr8.com/story/29880695/whats-behind-the-anchor-babies-buzz-phrase| title = Reference at www.kulr8.com}}{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} authorities in the city there closed 14 maternity tourism "hotels" in 2013. The industry is difficult to close down since it is not illegal for a pregnant woman to travel to the U.S.
On March 3, 2015 federal agents in Los Angeles conducted a series of raids on three "multimillion-dollar birth-tourism businesses" expected to produce the "biggest federal criminal case ever against the booming 'anchor baby' industry", according to The Wall Street Journal.{{cite news|last1=Jordan|first1=Miriam|title=Federal Agents Raid Alleged 'Maternity Tourism' Businesses Catering to Chinese|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/us-agents-raid-alleged-maternity-tourism-anchor-baby-businesses-catering-to-chinese-1425404456?tesla=y|access-date=3 March 2015|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=3 March 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Kim|first1=Victoria|title=Alleged Chinese 'maternity tourism' operations raided in California|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-birth-tourism-schemes-raids-20150303-story.html|access-date=4 March 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=3 March 2015}}
== Ireland's abolition of unconditional birthright citizenship ==
In 2005, Ireland amended its constitution to become the last country in Europe to abolish unconditional jus soli citizenship, as a direct result of concerns over birth tourism. A headline case was Chen v Home Secretary, whereby a Chinese temporary migrant living in mainland United Kingdom travelled to Belfast, Northern Ireland to give birth to her daughter for the purpose of obtaining Irish citizenship for her daughter (Ireland's jus soli law extends to all parts of the island of Ireland, including Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK). The daughter's Irish citizenship was then used by her parents to obtain permanent residence in the UK as the parents of a dependent EU citizen.{{Cite web|url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:62002CJ0200|title=EUR-Lex - 62002CJ0200 - EN - EUR-Lex|website=eur-lex.europa.eu|access-date=2019-03-28}}
Immigration status (United States)
The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution indicates that "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." The Supreme Court of the United States affirmed in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, {{Ussc|169|649|1898|el=no}},{{efn|name=fn1}} that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees citizenship for nearly all individuals born in the United States, provided that their parents are foreign citizens, have permanent domicile status in the United States, and are engaging in business in the United States except performing in a diplomatic or official capacity of a foreign power.{{cite web |url= https://www.factcheck.org/2015/11/trump-challenges-birthright-citizenship/ |title= Trump Challenges Birthright Citizenship|last1=Farley |first1=Robert|date=2015-11-13|work= FactCheck.org|publisher= The Annenberg Public Policy Center|access-date=2018-11-01| df=mdy-all}}{{cite news | first = Marc | last = Lacey | title = Birthright Citizenship Looms as Next Immigration Battle | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/us/politics/05babies.html | newspaper =The New York Times | date = 5 January 2011 | quote = The next big immigration battle centers on illegal immigrants' offspring, who are granted automatic citizenship like all other babies born on American soil. Arguing for an end to the policy, which is rooted in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, immigration hard-liners describe a wave of migrants like Ms. Vasquez stepping across the border in the advanced stages of pregnancy to have what are dismissively called 'anchor babies.'}}{{cite web |url= http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2010/aug/06/do-many-illegal-immigrants-deliver-anchor-babies/ |title= Do many illegal immigrants deliver 'anchor babies'?|author= Louis Jacobson |date= August 6, 2010|work= PolitiFact.com|publisher= St. Petersburg Times|access-date=January 17, 2012}}{{cite journal | journal=The Green Bag | volume=9 | year=2006 | page=376 |last1=Ho |first1=James Chiun-Yue|author-link1=James C. Ho| title=Defining "American": Birthright Citizenship and the Original Understanding of the 14th Amendment | url=http://www.gibsondunn.com/publications/Documents/Ho-DefiningAmerican.pdf | access-date=2012-03-27 | issue=4 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101030012325/http://www.gibsondunn.com/publications/Documents/Ho-DefiningAmerican.pdf | archive-date=2010-10-30 | url-status=dead | issn=1095-5216 | df=mdy-all }}{{cite book |title= The Columbia Documentary History of the Asian American Experience|last= Odo |first= Franklin |author-link= Franklin Odo |year= 2002 |publisher= Columbia University Press |isbn= 978-0231110303 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/columbiadocument00fran/page/112 112]–114 |url= https://archive.org/details/columbiadocument00fran|url-access= registration|quote= Wong Kim Ark.}}{{cite journal | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_kgZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA556 | first=Marshall B. | last=Woodworth | journal=American Law Review | volume=32 | pages=554–561 | title=Who Are Citizens of the United States? Wong Kim Ark Case | year=1898}}
Most constitutional scholars agree that the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides birthright citizenship even to those born in the United States to illegal immigrants.{{Cite book |last=Bouvé |first=Clement Lincoln |author-link=Clement Lincoln Bouvé |hdl=2027/uiuo.ark:/13960/t15n1mt6n?urlappend=%3Bseq=457 |title=A Treatise on the Laws Governing the Exclusion and Expulsion of Aliens in the United States|year=1912 |url=https://archive.org/details/treatiseonlawsgo00bouv/page/425/mode/1up |section=Of Aliens Unlawfully Residing In The United States |page=425 |publisher=J. Byrne & co. | df=mdy-all}}{{Cite news |last=Oh |first=Inae |url=https://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/08/donald-trump-has-some-thoughts-about-the-constitution |title=Donald Trump: The 14th Amendment is Unconstitutional |work=Mother Jones |date=August 19, 2015 |access-date=November 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123103240/http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/08/donald-trump-has-some-thoughts-about-the-constitution |archive-date=November 23, 2015 |url-status=live | df=mdy-all}}{{cite web |url=http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/aug/25/donald-trump/trump-many-scholars-say-anchor-babies-arent-covere/|title=Trump: 'Many' scholars say 'anchor babies' aren't covered by Constitution|last1=Carroll|first1=Lauren|author-link1=Lauren Carroll|date=2015-08-25|work=PolitiFact|access-date=2020-08-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203064026/http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/aug/25/donald-trump/trump-many-scholars-say-anchor-babies-arent-covere/|archive-date=2017-02-03| df=mdy-all}}{{cite news |last1=Paul |first1=Deanna |title=Trump wants to end birthright citizenship. A judge he appointed says he can't. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/10/30/trump-wants-end-birthright-citizenship-judge-he-appointed-says-he-cant/ |access-date=2018-12-20 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=2018-10-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116081906/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/10/30/trump-wants-end-birthright-citizenship-judge-he-appointed-says-he-cant/|archive-date=2018-11-16| df=mdy-all }} Edward Erler, writing for the Claremont Institute in 2007, said that since the Wong Kim Ark case dealt with someone whose parents were in the United States legally, it provides no valid basis under the 14th Amendment for the practice of granting citizenship to U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants. He goes on to argue that if governmental permission for parental entry is a necessary requirement for bestowal of birthright citizenship, then children of undocumented immigrants must surely be excluded from citizenship.Erler et al., [https://books.google.com/books?id=yTA0NyesVbcC The Founders on Citizenship and Immigration: Principles and Challenges in America], Claremont Institute Series on Statesmanship and Political Philosophy, p. {{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yTA0NyesVbcC&pg=PA67| title = 67| isbn = 9780742558557| last1 = Erler| first1 = Edward J.| last2 = West| first2 = Thomas G.| last3 = Marini| first3 = John A.| year = 2007| publisher = Rowman & Littlefield}}. "Even if the logic is that Wong Kim Ark became a citizen by birth with the permission of the United States when it admitted his parents to the country, no such permission has been given to those who enter illegally. If no one can become a citizen without the permission of the United States, then children of illegal aliens must surely be excluded from acquiring citizenship."
However, in Plyler v. Doe, {{ussc|457|202|1982|el=no}},{{efn|name=fn2}} a case involving educational entitlements for children in the United States unlawfully, Justice Brennan, writing for a five-to-four majority, held that such persons were subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and thus protected by its laws. In a footnote, he observed, "no plausible distinction with respect to Fourteenth Amendment 'jurisdiction' can be drawn between resident immigrants whose entry into the United States was lawful, and resident immigrants whose entry was unlawful."{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/trump-again-raises-much-debated-but-rarely-tested-question-of-birthright-citizenship/2018/10/30/79f9e59e-dc3c-11e8-85df-7a6b4d25cfbb_story.html|title=Trump again raises much-debated but rarely tested question of birthright citizenship|last1=Barnes |first1=Robert|date=2018-10-30|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2020-08-18| df=mdy-all}} In 2006 judge James Chiun-Yue Ho, who President Donald Trump would later appoint to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, wrote in a law review article that with the Plyler decision "any doubt was put to rest" whether the 1898 Wong Kim Ark decision applied to illegal aliens because "all nine justices agreed that the Equal Protection Clause protects legal and illegal aliens alike. And all nine reached that conclusion precisely because illegal aliens are 'subject to the jurisdiction' of the U.S., no less than legal aliens and U.S. citizens."
In 2010, statistics showed that a significant, and rising, number of undocumented immigrants were having children in the United States, but there is mixed evidence that acquiring citizenship for the parents was their goal. According to PolitiFact, the immigration benefits of having a child born in the United States are limited. Citizen children cannot sponsor parents for entry into the country until they are 21 years of age, and if the parent had ever been in the country illegally, they would have to show they had left and not returned for at least ten years; however, pregnant and nursing mothers could receive food vouchers through the federal WIC (Women, Infants and Children) program and enroll the children in Medicaid.{{cite web|url=http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/aug/06/lindsey-graham/illegal-immigrants-anchor-babies-birthright/|title=Fact-checking the claims about 'anchor babies' and whether illegal immigrants 'drop and leave'|date=August 6, 2010|work=PolitiFact.com|access-date=January 17, 2012}}
Parents of citizen children who have been in the country for ten years or more can also apply for relief from deportation, though only 4,000 persons a year can receive relief status; as such, according to PolitiFact, having a child in order to gain citizenship for the parents is "an extremely long-term, and uncertain, process." Approximately 88,000 legal-resident parents of US citizen children were deported in the 2000s, most for minor criminal convictions.{{Cite news|last = Watanabe| first = Teresa| title=Report criticizes increased deportation of legal immigrant parents| newspaper = Los Angeles Times| date = April 1, 2010| url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-apr-01-la-me-deport1-2010apr01-story.html| access-date = January 17, 2012}}
Incidence
Some critics of illegal immigration claim the United States' "birthright citizenship" is an incentive for illegal immigration, and that immigrants come to the country to give birth specifically so that their child will be an American citizen. The majority of children of illegal immigrants in the United States are citizens, and the number has risen. According to a Pew Hispanic Center report, an estimated 73% of children of illegal immigrants were citizens in 2008, up from 63% in 2003. A total of 3.8 million illegal immigrants had at least one child who is an American citizen. In investigating a claim by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, PolitiFact found mixed evidence to support the idea that citizenship was the motivating factor. PolitiFact concludes that "[t]he data suggests that the motivator for illegal immigrants is the search for work and a better economic standing over the long term, not quickie citizenship for U.S.-born babies."
There has been a growing trend, especially amongst Asian and African visitors from Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Taiwan and Nigeria to the United States,{{cite web| url = https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20020526/koreabirths26/korean-moms-want-born-in-usa-babies| title = Korean moms want 'born in USA' babies}}. Los Angeles Times{{cite web| url = http://allafrica.com/stories/201506151173.html| title = Nigeria: The Growing Fad Called Birth Tourism}}. All Africa to make use of "Birth Hotels" to secure US citizenship for their child and leave open the possibility of future immigration by the parents to the United States.{{cite web| url = https://www.npr.org/2013/01/04/168642107/foreigners-visiting-birth-hotels-in-california-draw-local-ire| title = National Public Radio: "Foreigners Visiting 'Birth Hotels' In California Draw Local Ire" by Audie Cornish| website = NPR.org}} January 04, 2013{{cite web| url = https://abcnews.go.com/US/chinese-women-pay-give-birth-california-maternity-mansion/story?id=17862251| title = ABC News: "Chinese Women Pay to Give Birth at California Maternity Mansion, Secure Citizenship for Babies" by Alyssa Newcomb| website = ABC News}} December 2, 2012 Pregnant women typically spend around $20,000 to stay in the facilities during their final months of pregnancy and an additional month to recuperate and await their new baby's U.S. passport.{{cite web| url = https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-birthing-centers-20130103-story.html| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130105121408/http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/03/local/la-me-birthing-centers-20130104| url-status = live| archive-date = January 5, 2013| title = Los Angeles Times: "In suburbs of L.A., a cottage industry of birth tourism" by Cindy Chang| website = Los Angeles Times| date = 3 January 2013}} January 03, 2013 In some cases, the birth of a Canadian{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/chinese-birth-tourists-having-babies-in-canada-1.1412536|title=Chinese 'birth tourists' having babies in Canada|date=18 January 2013|work=cbc.ca}} or American{{cite web|url=http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2011/10/31/8527542-one-child-policy-chinas-wealthy-mothers-fly-to-us-to-have-second-children|title=One-child policy: China's wealthy mothers fly to U.S. to have second children|author=Rock Center with Brian Williams|date=26 August 2015|work=NBC News}} child to mainland Chinese parents is a means to circumvent the one-child policy in China;{{cite magazine|url=https://world.time.com/2013/11/27/chinese-women-are-flocking-to-the-u-s-to-have-babies/|title=Birth Tourism: Chinese Flock to the U.S. to Have Babies |magazine=Time | date=November 27, 2013}} Hong Kong{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-17838280|title=Hong Kong to limit mainland China maternity services|work=BBC News | date=April 25, 2012}} and the Northern Mariana Islands{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/09/09/chinese-tourist-births-cnmi/2784797/|title='Birth tourism' in Saipan causing headaches for USA|author=Zach Coleman |date=9 September 2013|work=USA Today}} were also popular destinations before more restrictive local regulation impeded traffic. Some prospective mothers misrepresent their intentions of coming to the United States, a violation of U.S. immigration law and as of January 24, 2020 it became U.S. consular policy to deny B visa applications from applicants whom the consular officer has reason to believe are traveling for the primary purpose of giving birth in the United States to obtain U.S. citizenship for their child.{{Cite web|url=https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/20200123_birth-tourism-update.html|title=Birth Tourism Update|website=travel.state.gov|access-date=2020-02-13}}
See also
References
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
Footnotes
{{notelist|refs=
{{efn|name=fn1|{{caselaw source
|case=United States v. Wong Kim Ark, {{Ussc|169|649|1898|el=no}}
| cornell =https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/169/649
| courtlistener =https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/94842/united-states-v-wong-kim-ark/
| googlescholar = https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3381955771263111765
| justia =https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/169/649/
| loc =http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep169/usrep169649/usrep169649.pdf
| openjurist =http://openjurist.org/169/us/649
}}}}
{{efn|name=fn2|{{caselaw source | case=Plyler v. Doe, {{ussc|457|202|1982|el=no}} | cornell =https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/457/202 | justia=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/457/202/ | googlescholar=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=12010798883027065807 | oyez =https://www.oyez.org/cases/1981/80-1538 | loc =http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep457/usrep457202/usrep457202.pdf}}}}
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anchor Baby}}
Category:History of immigration to the United States
Category:Pejorative terms for people