Re: if deliver baby in canada, would that affect my chance of future immigration
Hi all,
I believe the term "anchor baby" is bigoted because of the way I have seen it being used by the right wing media and politicians. I dont know about Canada but I live in The US, I went to school here and understand the system intimately. In this country labels to segments of the society has always had disastrous consequences however harmless or devious the labels may be. I am very open minded and I strongly believe that immigration should be regulated because without laws our resources will be overstretched, over-run and undermined.A trip down history lane can explain my point.
When we had terms like "The only good Indian is a dead Indian" the native population of this country was almost wiped out to create room for settlements. Come to Massachusetts, or the New England region, You wont see any Wampanoags, Chicopees, Chirokees or other indigenous Americans.
When the Irish came because of strife in Ireland and the potato famine, People erected signs like "Irish need not apply for vacancies" at job sites. I guess they were seen as troublemakers. The experience of Italian Americans in their bid to settle here led to the explosion of mob activities because they were not given opportunities. Jewish Americans who were fleeing the pogroms and discrimination in Europe also faced a lot of hurdles. That is one reason why they are mainly concentrated in the tri-state areas (New york, New Jersey, Pennsylvania). They were al referred to by labels which I will not use here.
The contemporary villains are modern immigrants represented by the Mexicans given that they are the majority here. Some of us may not like Mexicans immigration but I believe we should focus more on controlling entry and give those with roots here a path to citizenship. People say, they are invading us, but take a trip back into history we seized Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and parts of California from Mexico and pushed many of them out. Now we rise in arms because of a trickle of Mexicans back here.
The so called illegal parents do not get food stamps, Social benefits or welfare but when their children attain majority age they pay taxes. The other thing is that if you come here illegally, it does not matter if your child is a citizen, you must leave the country before you can be processed for residency. Here in the US of people who work the back rooms, landscape and do
Immigration has always been a part and parcel of human history. The world has changed and we must also change with it and become stricter but we should still avoid terms that may incite mass mistreatment of people. In the US we just had the "Show your papers legislation in Arizona shut down by a federal judge. In Georgia, the governor has signed a similar bill into law.
In the media, I see lines like alien infestation, illegal aliens. We just focus on the present. We dont ask ourselves how America and Canada was settled. If you live in Canada, read about the now dead separation of some children of the first nation and their parents so as to "civilize them". Read about that in Australia too. This developed because we gave labels to their cultures and saw their parents as unfit
In the US is a hot button issue and some people in the right wing bandy terms like anchor babies without a care. There are debates to change the 14th amendment that gives citizenship by natural birth without an understanding of the history of this great nation. The aim of the debates is to deny "anchor babies" citizenship.
If somebody has the ability to come to Canada and give birth, that person has been screened by the Canadian government and contributes to the economy of Canada. Its actually a good sign for Canadian vibrancy. Many countries give right of birth citizenship but people dont go to give birth in such countries. simply because they are not on a par with Canada. Canada has one of the best immigration laws guided by reason and not emotions and fear.
I feel so passionate about this issue because am a student of world history. My opinions may be riddled with errors and my liberal bias but I try to stay open minded. Thank you
Respectfully Yours
