Anchor Babies Essay

This article is a letter to the editor about the controversy about the 14th amendment and whether letting illegal immigrant children becoming citizens follows that amendment. According to the 14th amendment, a person must pass two requirements in order to become an automatic citizen; they must be born in the U.S and be “ subject to its jurisdiction and with no other allegiance to another country”. Senator Jacob Howard explained that the 14th amendment excluded the Native Americans and “persons born in the U.S who are foreigners, aliens, [or] who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers. Said differently, the amendment didn’t refer to what are called “ partial’’ jurisdiction, as “sojourners” and the amendment absolutely did

America, a place where people can express freedom. America, ruled by democracy helps the people express their freedom by the constitution. Every four to eight years there is a new president that people would elect to govern and maintain the prosperity of America. One of the candidates is Donald Trump, a wealthy businessman and can be described as having “blind ambition and gigantic ego” (Carroll), who decided to run for president during the 2016 presidential election. Although he is leading the polls, he brought up a very controversial policy called, "Anchor Babies" this policy states all persons who are born in America is a citizen. This system also goes against the 14th Amendment, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the state wherein they reside.” according to the article "Untruths about ‘anchor babies’ and the 14th Amendment ". The Constitution, which gave us, our twenty-seven amendments including freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. These aspects help American citizens exercise their rights in America. However, what happens if one policy, one candidate running for a term of the office goes against the constitution that has governed us since the wake of America? This change in the system can cause adverse factors to affect the reputation of the United States.

Much controversy has been seen in politics specifically in immigration and the ratification of the 14th amendment. While some argue that changes should be made to the 14th amendment, others argue that immigrants are major contributors to the United States economy. Over the recent years, rising immigration numbers have been seen however, the impact on the US has shown more pros than cons. There should not be any more restrictions to the 14th amendment because having those hard-working Americans has played a significant role such as supporting the US need for economic growth, education, and innovation-essential skills.

The 14th Amendment played a large role in the way we perceive today’s society. Being that the beginning of the 14th Amendment 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”, the intent of the 14th Amendment is to stop the granting of automatic citizenship of new born babies in the United States. Those babies were born by illegal mothers which deems them to be considered as illegal immigrants. The reason why immigration is bad is due to immigrants taking control of the resources that were meant for Americans to use; such as jobs, free health benefits, education benefits, free housing and much more, thus triggering the start of the 14th Amendment. Aside from immigration, another motive for the 14th Amendment was due to other states violating United States citizens’ rights. In the case

Single individuals that stay in the United States do not have children right away, because that was never their intention. Since most immigrants arrive in the U.S. by themselves, they end up looking for company that many times results in marriage, children or both. Therefore, these people come to consider a permanent life in the U.S. Additionally, data from the Pew Research Center shows that more than 90% of the illegal immigrants in the United States, didn’t have children until two years after they came to the U.S.(Gomez). Though some politicians use mass media to misinform the American people, to make them believe that “Anchor Babies” are a problem for the society. Aside people that oppose immigrants and their children, many Americans constantly

The fourteenth Amendment clearly states 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 where they reside. This amendment enables pregnant woman to come into the United States , either legally or illegally, long enough to have a baby born in the United States granting them with full rights of citizenship and return home. People have come to question and assume that this section of the fourteenth amendment has become a problem, believing that these pregnant women have arrived to only bring disgrace and in justice to our Country. Those people who question these pregnants women's thoughts and actions, are wrong. These Women are not a problem to the United States for not all of their intentions are wrong, and most of their hearts are in the right place.

The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside.” Although misread and misunderstood, it is understood that if a child is born on U.S. soil, that child is a U.S. citizen. More than 300,000 “anchor babies” are born in the United States every year. In 2003 in 70 percent of the 2,300 babies born in San Joaquin General Hospital were anchor babies. Illegal female immigrants flock to the U.S. to have their babies delivered in our hospitals. They do not pay the medical bills and because their babies are U.S. citizens, the child is immediately eligible for welfare. In 1994, approximately 75,000 anchor babies cost California hospitals $215 million. Anchor babies now account for half of all Medi-Cal births. It’s this type of abuse that has led to hospitals going out of business. (Cosman, 2005) California isn’t the only state where illegal immigrants anchor themselves through the delivery of a baby on U.S. soil. This goes on all across the country, and they cannot be

Immigration has become a very controversial topic that no one can stop talking about. From President Barack Obama’s Immigration Reform to potential 2016 presidential candidates, everyone is looking at different ways to amend our broken immigration system. Almost everyone agrees that we need tighter border control and there needs to be more regulations to prevent the hiring of illegal immigrants. Not everyone is sure what should be decided about immigrant parents, who are not American citizens, and their American born children. This topic has left people questioning the 14th Amendment and “birthright citizenship.” While some people have no tolerance for these children and want them out, others have thought of better solutions that keep the

In the United States, the cliché of a nation of immigrants is often invoked. Indeed, very few Americans can trace their ancestry to what is now the United States, and the origins of its immigrants have changed many times in American history. Despite the identity of an immigrant nation, changes in the origins of immigrants have often been met with resistance. What began with white, western European settlers fleeing religious persecution morphed into a multicultural nation as immigrants from countries across the globe came to the U.S. in increasing numbers. Like the colonial immigrants before them, these new immigrants sailed to the Americas to gain freedom, flee poverty and

     Those opposed to ending the clause in the Birthright Citizenship Amendment will argue that… “The framers' intent was to create an objective basis for establishing citizenship—birth—not a subjective standard left to the whim of a majority. The United States has, for that reason, never struggled like other nations to integrate those born here” (Fitz, 2010). The thought process here is that those born natural citizens of the US from alien parents will always carry the stigma of having been the children of aliens. This could cause more undue injustice towards these people than the founding fathers wanted. After all, they were all alien to this soil.

The “American Dream” was an ideology influenced throughout all American history that all immigrants first had when they entered the United States. Past Eurasian immigrants escaped the persecution they once faced in their own country in search of a better life in America. Currently, the residents of Central America are fleeing their countries filled with poverty and crime and are illegally entering and smuggling their children, some as young as three, into America (Ross). The Development, Relief, and education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, proposed by president Barack Obama, is a plan to create a clear path for children of illegal immigrants towards U.S. citizenship and American benefits. These illegal immigrants must have entered the United

“We are nation of immigrants. Some came here willingly, some unwillingly. Nonetheless, we are immigrants, or the descendants of immigrants, one, and all. Even the natives came from somewhere else, originally. All of the people who come to this country come for freedom, or for some product of that extraordinary, illusory condition. That is what we offer here—freedom and opportunity in a land of relative plenty.” (Middletown Journal 2005)

I lived a happy childhood in California I never had an experience with racism and discrimination, until I moved to Reno, NV for school. I went to a Donald Trump conference to rally the event. A middle age man approached me and started shouting to me and some friends to “go back to Mexico!” I later yelled back I’m an American just like you I was born in the U.S. He kept saying vulgar words to me and started to tell me if my parents are immigrants so am I, I am an anchor baby. The term anchor baby started to get popular because of the candidate Donald Trump. The American heritage dictionary of English language definition is considered an offensive word “Used as a disparaging term for a child born to

“The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” (-Mark Twain) Being a child of immigrant parents who move to American can be hard. There is a lingering feeling of not feeling like a child belongs. They are stuck in the invisible world between where their parents came from, in this specific case, Asia and where the child lives now. It can be difficult to be raised as an Asian American and learning both culture and traditions. Many Asian American kids end up deviating from the Asian culture and embracing the American culture. However, children of immigrants should embrace their own culture in order to keep traditions alive and be proud of who they are.

According to the fourteenth amendment website the fourteenth amendment “is currently misinterpreted to give citizenship to children born in the United States of illegal alien parents. These children, via their birthright citizenship, act as anchor babies and can, upon reaching the age of majority, facilitate bringing their extended family into the US in order to obtain citizenship. Although some experts believe that a Constitutional amendment would be necessary to remedy the misinterpretation, many believe that Congressional action would be sufficient and is urgently warranted.” Not until later was it seen “With illegal aliens who are unlawfully in the United States, their native country has a claim of allegiance on the child. Thus, the completeness of their allegiance to the United States is impaired, which therefore precludes automatic citizenship” (Fourteen Amendment). This was basically a warning for immigrants stating they are responsible for their child and they would not become legal just because they were born in the United States and they would both be claimed by their native land. For example, if a woman from Mexico was to come to the United States illegally, at 8 months pregnant, and have her baby they would not just become legal citizens.