# How did the term anchor baby even come into being? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 23, 2015, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598 "2015-08-23T12:27:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/1 "2015-08-23T12:27:13Z")
And it just won’t die no matter how many times it is debunked, and I’ve even seen a nonsensical reversal from the other side with stuff like “US deports US citizen baby” when they really mean the parents chose not to abandon their child in the USA, a child who incidentally has citizenship. I have trouble understanding how a total myth has become so pervasive. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/2 "2015-08-23T16:02:17Z")
I would be surprised if nobody has ever come into the US illegally in order to ensure that their child is a US citizen by birth. I don’t think it happens every day, or that it is a significant problem for the US, but why wouldn’t someone do that if they had the chance? According to Wiki, the term [anchor baby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchor_baby) first appeared in print in 1996. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/3 "2015-08-23T17:36:40Z")
> [@grude](#): > > And it just won’t die no matter how many times it is debunked, and I’ve even seen a nonsensical reversal from the other side with stuff like “US deports US citizen baby” when they really mean the parents chose not to abandon their child in the USA, a child who incidentally has citizenship. > > I have trouble understanding how a total myth has become so pervasive. What, exactly, has been debunked? Is it your claim that no one, ever, has come to the US in order to have a baby so that the baby could become a US citizen? That would be one helluva thing to prove! It’s my understanding that it’s nowhere near as pervasive as some would have us think, and that it’s more of “a thing” for Asians than Mexicans, [but it definitely happens.](http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-birth-tourism-schemes-raids-20150303-story.html) ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/4 "2015-08-23T19:23:41Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > What, exactly, has been debunked? Is it your claim that no one, ever, has come to the US in order to have a baby so that the baby could become a US citizen? That would be one helluva thing to prove! > > It’s my understanding that it’s nowhere near as pervasive as some would have us think, and that it’s more of “a thing” for Asians than Mexicans, [but it definitely happens.](http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-birth-tourism-schemes-raids-20150303-story.html) No, not what I am claiming. I’m claiming no one has ever used a baby with citizenship to anchor themselves in the USA. The “give birth on USA soil, then leave with child and 21 years later have that child move to the USA and then sponsor direct family members for immigration benefits” thing is not what is meant by the term. You can’t even transition to permanent resident status while inside the US if you never legally entered in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/5 "2015-08-23T20:23:38Z")
> [@grude](#): > > No, not what I am claiming. I’m claiming no one has ever used a baby with citizenship to anchor themselves in the USA. The “give birth on USA soil, then leave with child and 21 years later have that child move to the USA and then sponsor direct family members for immigration benefits” thing is not what is meant by the term. It would be 18 years, not 21. Two things, though: 1. How do you prove that no one has ever done this. 2. It doesn’t really matter whether anyone has successfully done it, but whether or not people are trying to do it. And there is no doubt they are, even if not in the numbers that someone like Trump would have us believe. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/6 "2015-08-23T20:48:10Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > It would be 18 years, not 21. [Nope, 21.](http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/A1en.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/7 "2015-08-23T21:19:21Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > [Nope, 21.](http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/A1en.pdf) Yes and no. Isn’t it true that you only need to be 18 to petition for a spouse or a child? The post I responded to just said “direct family member”. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/8 "2015-08-23T21:21:35Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Yes and no. Isn’t it true that you only need to be 18 to petition for a spouse or a child? The post I responded to just said “direct family member”. Correct, but you need to be 21 to petition for a parent, which is the relevant situation for this discussion, no? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/9 "2015-08-23T22:01:55Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > Correct, but you need to be 21 to petition for a parent, which is the relevant situation for this discussion, no? I am still uncertain what the GQ question here is. That is, what is the question for which there is a factual answer? So, not sure I can determine what the “relevant situation” is. I was just responding to a post that said “direct family members”, not “parent”. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/10 "2015-08-23T22:12:56Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I am still uncertain what the GQ question here is. That is, what is the question for which there is a factual answer? If a US citizen baby has never anchored a non-citizen parent to the US, why did the term start and why does it continue seemingly even gaining use would sum it up. Imagine as a fictional example 'assault food ’ was a term that came into being, and people even talked and debated about the need to ban this dangerous consumable that can be used to hurt or kill others for decades, but it never existed in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/11 "2015-08-23T22:40:28Z")
> [@grude](#): > > If a US citizen baby has never anchored a non-citizen parent to the US, why did the term start and why does it continue seemingly even gaining use would sum it up. How do you know it never happened? And if it never happened, how do you know no one ever tried? If Americans are ignorant of the rules, isn’t it also possible that foreigners would be, also? And then, finally, since when has reality forced a political charged term out of existence? I’m honestly not sure there is a factual answer to that question. People find it politically useful to use the term, and so they keep using it. The American electorate is not famous for being rigorously informed on any issue, much less immigration. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/12 "2015-08-23T22:43:27Z")
> [@grude](#): > > If a US citizen baby has never anchored a non-citizen parent to the US, why did the term start and why does it continue seemingly even gaining use would sum it up. > > Imagine as a fictional example 'assault food ’ was a term that came into being, and people even talked and debated about the need to ban this dangerous consumable that can be used to hurt or kill others for decades, but it never existed in the first place. It’s like the term Welfare Queen. It preys on the fears that people have of how others must be gaming the system. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/13 "2015-08-24T02:19:25Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I am still uncertain what the GQ question here is. That is, what is the question for which there is a factual answer? So, not sure I can determine what the “relevant situation” is. I was just responding to a post that said “direct family members”, not “parent”. I was responding to the theme of the thread, which as I understood it, was “can having a child born in the U.S. in itself give a person a right to remain in the U.S.?” To which the answer, the vast majority of the time, is “no.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2015, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/14 "2015-08-24T02:32:21Z")
> [@grude](#): > > If a US citizen baby has never anchored a non-citizen parent to the US, why did the term start and why does it continue seemingly even gaining use would sum it up. > [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > I was responding to the theme of the thread, which as I understood it, was “can having a child born in the U.S. in itself give a person a right to remain in the U.S.?” To which the answer, the vast majority of the time, is “no.” What is the answer to the actual question being asked? Emphasis added. I’m not trying to lend credence to the term, just note that I think the OP is overstating the case. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/15 "2015-08-27T15:26:34Z")
I’m amazed that anyone is actually disputing that this is a real phenomenon. It may not be common, and there are certainly other reasons why people might want to engage in birth tourism, but it does happen. Here’s a Google translation (sorry) from the FAQs at [StarBabyCare.com](http://StarBabyCare.com), which claims to have hosted 4,000 pregnant women since it was founded in 1999: > [@](#): > > **Parents born in the US, parents can thus obtain US citizenship it?** > > Can. The United States is part of territorialism, so American-born BABY naturally have US citizenship, has a variety of life and education benefits, **as a child after the age of 21, parents can apply on behalf of the lineal relatives of immigrants, to obtain a green card** , but not quota year. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/16 "2015-08-27T15:35:37Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > I would be surprised if nobody has ever come into the US illegally in order to ensure that their child is a US citizen by birth. I don’t think it happens every day, or that it is a significant problem for the US, but why wouldn’t someone do that if they had the chance? Yes, it happens every day. There are a few thousands of rich Russians’ wives that go to Miami to have the baby. Two reasons - one is that the hospitals here are better, and the second is US citizenship for the baby. There are a few companies that facilitate it. [Here’s one](http://miami-mama.com/). I am pretty familiar with that because my parents live in that area and know all about it, and I see the women and their kids out on the beaches/seaside pools all the time. A few thousand Chinese every year (maybe more than a few thousand, not sure) do the same but usually on the West coast somewhere. Not sure what other countries are involved, but there should definitely be some from India/Pakistan as well. A US citizenship for the kid (if you can afford it - these services are not cheap) is a great insurance in life. I don’t really think that particular phenomenon is a significant problem for the US. Those people are richer than the average American, and will not be a drain on the social support systems here if they ever decide to settle in the US. There are also (IIRC the estimates) about 400,000 kids born to illegal immigrants in the US, annually. Now, arguably, those parents are not in the US specifically to have the baby, but the rationale to have the birth here in the US vs in the native countries is the same - definitely better health care, and definitely the kid having the citizenship doesn’t hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/17 "2015-08-27T15:46:44Z")
To follow up - I was reading that Miami Mama web site and they mention that the other countries that have this thriving US-born-baby demand are Turkey, Argentina and Brazil. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/18 "2015-08-28T13:27:16Z")
[This](http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-asian-anchor-babies-wealthy-chinese-20150826-story.html) story in the LA Times says that Birth Tourism is popular among wealth Chinese. It estimates that 40,000 births per year in the US are a result of birth tourism. That is 13.3% of the total births to foreign nationals in the US. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/19 "2015-08-28T14:13:12Z")
> [@grude](#): > > And it just won’t die no matter how many times it is debunked, and I’ve even seen a nonsensical reversal from the other side with stuff like “US deports US citizen baby” when they really mean the parents chose not to abandon their child in the USA, a child who incidentally has citizenship. > > I have trouble understanding how a total myth has become so pervasive. Why do you think it’s a total myth?? From [Time](http://world.time.com/2013/11/27/chinese-women-are-flocking-to-the-u-s-to-have-babies/): > [@](#): > > The soon-to-be Chinese father was getting ready to go to America. His wife, due to give birth to their son any day, was already there. Like any expectant parents, the Shanghai couple agonized over how best to prepare for the arrival — and upbringing — of their firstborn child. American citizenship, they decided, was one of the finest gifts they could bestow. “America is the strongest country in the world,” says the Shanghai native, whose son was born just days after he eventually arrived in California this month. “We want our child to have the best future.” > > The U.S. is one of the few nations where simply being born on its soil confers citizenship on a newborn. That policy has spawned a birth-tourism industry, in which pregnant foreigners flock to American hospitals to secure U.S. passports for their babies. Although the foreign couple can’t acquire U.S. nationality themselves, once their American-born offspring turn 21 they can theoretically sponsor their parents for future U.S. citizenship. Another perk: these American-born kids can take advantage of the U.S. education system, even paying lower in-state fees for public universities, depending on where they were delivered. (California is a popular birth-tourism destination because of its well-known university system.) > > More rich Chinese than ever are sending their families and money abroad. One study of Chinese millionaires found that half had either emigrated or were thinking of doing so. Boston Consulting Group estimates that Chinese have some $450 billion stockpiled overseas. What’s driving the exodus? Some wealthy citizens are spooked about the impact of an anticorruption campaign on their murkily sourced income. Others worry about the long-term risks of raising their kids in a polluted environment with dirty air, water and food. The pressure-cooker atmosphere of Chinese schools makes overseas schooling attractive. And even though China’s draconian one-child policy is being loosened, some couples feel it’s easier to give birth overseas and circumvent meddling by Chinese family-planning bureaucrats. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598/20 "2015-08-28T14:29:53Z")
> [@grude](#): > > If a US citizen baby has never anchored a non-citizen parent to the US, why did the term start and why does it continue seemingly even gaining use would sum it up. > > Imagine as a fictional example 'assault food ’ was a term that came into being, and people even talked and debated about the need to ban this dangerous consumable that can be used to hurt or kill others for decades, but it never existed in the first place. This phenomenon does exist. Not only do people come here to give birth for citizenship purposes, but the original sense of the term is also true: that parents of citizen children are less likely to be deported. Certainly, deportation of those parents is not _prohibited_, but immigration courts are more lenient with them. What has been “debunked” is claims that the problem is much greater than it really is; statistically, any anchor babies are a blip. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-the-term-anchor-baby-even-come-into-being/728598.md?page=2)