Leo R Chavez

Anchor Babies and the Challenge of Birthright Citizenship

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Leo R. Chavez is Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine. He is the author of The Latino Threat: Constructing Immigrants, Citizens, and the Nation (Stanford, 2008, 2013), among other books.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Stanford University Press
• Seitenzahl: 120
• Erscheinungstermin: 10. Oktober 2017
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 201mm x 127mm x 10mm
• Gewicht: 136g
• ISBN-13: 9781503605091
• ISBN-10: 1503605094
• Artikelnr.: 48859708

Autorenporträt

Leo R. Chavez is Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine. He is the author of The Latino Threat: Constructing Immigrants, Citizens, and the Nation (Stanford, 2008, 2013), among other books.

Inhaltsangabe

Contents and Abstracts
Prologue
chapter abstract
The Prologue introduces the reader to the concept of anchor babies and
birthright citizenship. It provides examples of issues and political
rhetoric related to anchor babies and the problem of defining the concept.
It also lays out the structure and organization of the book as well as the
general argument that the anchor baby rhetoric undermines the sense of
belonging of U.S.-citizen children by questioning their citizenship on the
basis of their parents' immigration status.
1Undeserving Citizens?
chapter abstract
This chapter examines media stories about anchor babies and birthright
citizenship that appeared in the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times
between 1965 and 2015. Media coverage began with stories about birthright
citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants. Early in the
2000s, the term "anchor baby" became part of public discourse and was used
to question whether the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants
deserved citizenship. This chapter traces the politics surrounding the
anchor baby rhetoric as well as attempts to legislate changing the
Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to deny anchor babies
citizenship.
2A History of Birthright Citizenship
chapter abstract
This chapter attempts to put the often hyperbolic rhetoric surrounding
anchor babies into a historical framework. The children of immigrants have
always had a tenuous position in American society. The Fourteenth Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution made birth in the nation, with some exceptions, a
definition of citizenship. The Supreme Court, in the Wong Kim Ark case in
1898, made it clear that birthright citizenship applied to the children of
immigrants, even when their parents may not have been eligible for
citizenship themselves. However, the children of stigmatized ethnic and
racial groups still found their citizenship questioned throughout the 20th
century.
3Diminished Citizenship
chapter abstract
Citizens living with families that include undocumented immigrants may be
subject to policies that diminish their rights as citizens, or they may
face verbally and physically aggressive behavior by individuals who
challenge their right to belong in America. They also face the daily threat
of deportation that would tear apart their families, often leaving them
destitute. State policies that deny birth certificates to U.S.-born
children not only affect the individuals so denied; they also underscore
that the state can disregard the rights of these so-called anchor babies.
Such policies also provide evidence of the power of the anchor baby
rhetoric to justify policies on the basis of the belief that anchor babies
are undeserving citizens.
Epilogue
chapter abstract
The Epilogue returns to the book's argument that the anchor baby rhetoric
undermines the sense of belonging and citizenship for the U.S.-born
children of immigrants. It also shows that the targets of such rhetoric can
feel as if they are being singled out as undeserving Americans. It examines
the case of Judge Gonzalo Curiel, whose ability to perform his judicial
duties were questioned because of his Mexican heritage. The book ends with
the hope that the children of immigrants will not let the anchor baby
rhetoric diminish them as people and as citizens.