Anchor baby is a derogatory term in US English for a child born in the United States to immigrants or other non-citizens, regardless of the immigration status of the parents. The term refers to the supposed role of the child, as a U.S. citizen, in facilitating immigration through family reunification under the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.
A related term, "anchor child", referring in this case to very young immigrants...
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Anchor baby is a derogatory term in US English for a child born in the United States to immigrants or other non-citizens, regardless of the immigration status of the parents. The term refers to the supposed role of the child, as a U.S. citizen, in facilitating immigration through family reunification under the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.
A related term, "anchor child", referring in this case to very young immigrants who will later sponsor citizenship for family members who are still abroad, was used in reference to Vietnamese boat people in the early 1980s and early 1990s.
According to the Double-Tongued Dictionary, edited by American lexicographer Grant Barrett, the term "anchor baby" means "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." In response to a reader's proposed alternate definition...
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