# Is "Anchor Baby" an offensive term? Why or why not? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 22, 2015, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anchor-baby-an-offensive-term-why-or-why-not/728511 "2015-08-22T07:16:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anchor-baby-an-offensive-term-why-or-why-not/728511/82 "2015-08-26T13:53:43Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > If a well off European couple decided to have a child in the US to allow them the benefits of US Citizenship, they wouldn’t call that an “Anchor baby”. This can and does happen. > > The same way they would never call a white person who lets their VISA expire but stays in the US, which also can and does happen, an “Illegal”. It’s all “Hate the Brown People” nonsense. Nonsense. The term “anchor baby” applies to the offspring of any illegal alien who enters the U.S. only to give birth to an American citizen. \*Chinese Women Pay to Give Birth at California Maternity Mansion, Secure Citizenship for Babies …An address found on [AsiamChild.com](http://AsiamChild.com), a Chinese language website advertising the American birthing experience to prospective mothers, matches with the Chino Hills residence. Packages on the site range from $5,000 to $15,000 and call the expenditure a “worthwhile investment” in order to have an American baby. …Aside from citizenship, the website touts other perks American citizens enjoy, including free public education, better loan rates and social welfare during retirement\*. > **[Chinese Women Pay to Give Birth at California Maternity Mansion, Secure...](https://abcnews.go.com/US/chinese-women-pay-give-birth-california-maternity-mansion/story?id=17862251)** > > The unassuming home at the top of the hill in an upscale Chino Hills, Calif., neighborhood has been operating as a "maternity mansion," charging women from China high prices to give birth in the United States, essentially buying American citizenship... \*Born In The U.S.A.? Some Chinese Plan It That Way …“Most Chinese women who go to the U.S. to give birth do so for their child’s future, for the education, and for the work possibilities. And that’s true for me, too,” says Chen, who is cautious and does not to want to reveal her identity\*. > **[Born In The U.S.A.? Some Chinese Plan It That Way](https://www.npr.org/2010/11/22/131513165/born-in-the-u-s-a-some-chinese-plan-it-that-way)** > > An increasing number of mainland Chinese women are traveling to the United States to give birth. Anyone born on U.S. soil has the right to U.S. citizenship, according to the 14th Amendment. And for about $15,000, that trip is a bargain for wealthy... ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anchor-baby-an-offensive-term-why-or-why-not/728511/83 "2015-08-26T15:14:19Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Nonsense. The term “anchor baby” applies to the offspring of any illegal alien who enters the U.S. only to give birth to an American citizen. > > _Chinese Women Pay to Give Birth at California Maternity Mansion, Secure Citizenship for Babies …_. The very articles you quote note that these Chinese women are coming into the country _ **on visas** _, and therefore are not illegal aliens, so what is the relevance of the articles to your definition of “anchor baby”?? ---
**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 26, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anchor-baby-an-offensive-term-why-or-why-not/728511/84 "2015-08-26T15:20:55Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I erred earlier. Illegal immigrant parents are usually allowed to stay and raise an anchor baby as a matter of policy. I don’t think there’s a specific law. It’s both a moral and practical obligation. It would cost far more to place that baby in foster care and it would be morally unacceptable to most Americans. Myself included. A baby has to be raised by it’s parents whenever possible… No, it’s not our policy to allow the parents to stay in the US, and thousands are deported every year. Whether or not the parents take the baby with them is a choice they make, and probably not an easy one. But deportation is the norm, with some exceptions. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anchor-baby-an-offensive-term-why-or-why-not/728511/85 "2015-08-26T15:43:05Z")
> [@slash2k](#): > > The very articles you quote note that these Chinese women are coming into the country _ **on visas** _, and therefore are not illegal aliens, so what is the relevance of the articles to your definition of “anchor baby”?? The term “anchor baby” also applies to the offspring of any legal alien who enters the U.S. only to give birth to an American citizen. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anchor-baby-an-offensive-term-why-or-why-not/728511/86 "2015-08-26T16:32:47Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > I understand your position, but you are being deliberately obtuse. A 57 year old woman in Cheyenne, WO is also an American citizen. An “anchor baby” is one born of illegal immigrant parents who use the baby’s American citizenship to allow them increased access to U.S. society. We cannot use the generic term and ensure that we are referring to the latter issue under debate. > > The question was: if the term “anchor baby” is offensive, then what term should we use to describe the situation we are talking about. “American citizen” doesn’t reach that level of specificity. This is precisely the reason it is objectionable. It lies by inference, by suggesting that “the baby’s American citizenship [would] allow than increased access to U. S. society”. It doesn’t, at least until the child reaches majority _and_ is in a position to sponsor them. Do you know of any case where this has happened? Even if it happened, do you think the parents had the baby for that specific reason? Planning 18 or almost certainly many more years in advance. The term suggests something it doesn’t mean and so is a lie. And I object to lies. Of course, I expect nothing less from conservatives. “Baby” is the word I would use to describe them. ---
**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 26, 2015, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anchor-baby-an-offensive-term-why-or-why-not/728511/87 "2015-08-26T16:36:28Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > The term “anchor baby” also applies to the offspring of any legal alien who enters the U.S. only to give birth to an American citizen. That describes most immigrants over the history of the USA who struggled to come to this country so their children will be better off. What makes these babies anchors and other immigrants who come here so their children will have better lives not anchors? ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anchor-baby-an-offensive-term-why-or-why-not/728511/88 "2015-08-26T18:07:41Z")
Thread summary: anchor babies don’t even exist, but if they did it would definitely be racist to point it out. ---
**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 26, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anchor-baby-an-offensive-term-why-or-why-not/728511/89 "2015-08-26T18:49:50Z")
No, it’s like saying Welfare Queens don’t exist (it’s a derogatory term meant to rile people up), but while a small percent game the system, assuming anyone on welfare is a Welfare Queen is offensive. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anchor-baby-an-offensive-term-why-or-why-not/728511.md?page=4)