Immigration policy is complex and multi-faceted. This article attempts to focus on one small but critical part of an overall immigration plan, the “anchor-baby.”
US immigration policies reflect the USA's relationship with commonly accepted International Laws. International Law has at its foundation the work of one Hugo Grotius.
Hugo Grotius (1583—1645) was a Dutch humanist and jurist whose philosophy of natural law had a major impact on the development of seventeenth century political thought and on the moral theories of the Enlightenment. Hugo Grotius crafted his work in direct response to the political situations facing Europe during his lifetime, but which transcended and had important implications in the formation of national laws and their trans-national impact.
Times Have Changed
Immigration and national of citizenship in Hugo’s time happened when a journey across seas could take up to several years. A child born during the journey to another country took on the citizenship of the parents. A child born to those same parents after arrival in the new country became a citizen of the new country as it might be years before the parents and child could return home to the country of origin. For many, many years this was the international standard. As technology changed and journey time between countries changed from months and years to days and hours. The idea of an anchor-baby was rejected by most industrialized countries as less of a “common-sense necessity” and more of a loophole in immigration law to advantage economic immigration.
The definition of an anchor-baby or anchor-child is one 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 to improve the mother's or other relatives' chances of securing eventual citizenship. This definition gives rise to the phenomenon of “birther tourism.” Birther tourism includes pregnant women traveling as legitimate tourists, pregnant illegals crossing borders, children traveling alone crossing borders (illegally), and even innocent babies thrown over the border fence.
Birther Tourism
Birther tourism is institutionalized in the USA. Regular tours for pregnant women from China, Mexico, and many other countries, come to the USA with valid tourist visas. The tour company provides prenatal care in a “quasi-medical” facility, in-house doctors, mid-wives, and all necessary facilities for a safe and healthy birth. Child is delivered. USA passport is issued. Mother and child return to country of origin, or both remain in USA and demand citizenship of the child and lawful parents.
The USA is the last major industrialized country to still allow anchor-babies. All other major industrialized countries stopped this practice years ago.
The concept and legal allowance of “anchor-babies” forces open the door for total family immigration outside the standard legal framework of a national immigration policy. This paves the way and encourages “economic immigration.” It is the big “loophole” which has a domino effect allowing enrichment of illegal immigrants to barnstorm across legal borders.
This loophole needs to close. It is an important facet in overall normalization of US Immigration Laws in keeping with the transnational and international normalization of national immigration policy.
A Seat on The Gravy Train
Few illegal aliens come to the US to add value to this country--not because they don’t want to but are instead heavily incentivized to do everything but contribute. Illegal immigrants who come here are looking for a better life. I would be doing the same and don’t personally blame them for this. The blame can be squarely laid at the feet of the federal government.
Most are economic refugees trying to catch a seat on the US gravy train. By government estimates there are more than 11 million illegal aliens in the US today. Government spending for this population is estimated at $116 billion. Illegal immigrants are treated to free food, free housing, free shelter, free medical services, free medicine, free legal services, free unlimited education (including college or university). They have free transportation to and from the free services. They pay no fees. They pay no taxes.
Compare the plight of the illegal immigrants with that of our uniformed service veterans. With rare exceptions, the veteran does not get free food, free shelter, or free unlimited education.
There are 4.7 million disabled veterans in the US. The disabled veteran gets a small disability income that puts them far below the poverty line. For example, a veteran with a 50% disability rating (like loss of both one leg and one arm) will get $905.00 month.
Do the math on that. It is less than the State of New York (alone) gives illegals ($15,000).
Unemployment rates for disabled veterans stays a steady 70%+. Our men and women who have lives destroyed by their selfless service to our society are treated with less largess than those who break our laws and crash our borders. Illegal immigrants create little and suck dry our resources which would be better used elsewhere, like taking decent humane care of our disabled veterans.
The time is now to stop the “gravy train” and start responsible enforcement of our immigration laws. There things to be done for our own citizens.
Convention of States Can Make It Happen
Immigration to the USA has an established and very workable legal process. When there is a work-around from the legal and normal national process for immigration, those law-abiding immigration applicants are cheated out of their opportunity.
Absent the allowance for “anchor-babies,” the immigration process is still a viable, workable, rational process. The time is now to eliminate this practice. The time is past for the USA to join the practice of the rest of the industrialized nations. As the past political agendas of both political parties and many administrations have ignored this problem, it remains for the Convention of States to make it one of their priorities to rein in the federal government and make them uphold their constitutional duty to secure our nation.
Help us to rein in the federal government by going to conventionofstates.com, signing the petition and perhaps becoming a volunteer.
Stats included in article can found here: https://usafacts.org/issues/immigration
