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Old 01-07-2011, 04:24 PM
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Jeanfromfillmore Jeanfromfillmore is offline
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Default 'Birth tourism' lost in shadow of birthright citizenship debate

'Birth tourism' lost in shadow of birthright citizenship debate
ANALYSIS | A closer look at the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution reveals that -- right or wrong -- it currently guarantees birthright citizenship to children born on American soil. It is immaterial if the parents are in the country legally, illegally or temporarily.
As birthright citizenship is becoming a hot news topic in the illegal immigration debate, there is an undercurrent that does not frequently receive a lot of coverage: birth tourism.
[ For complete coverage of politics and policy, go to Yahoo! Politics ]

Within the confines of illegal immigration, birthright citizenship is considered to create so-called "anchor babies" that make it possible for illegal aliens to remain in the United States, while the citizen-child may later petition for them and for extended family members to come to (or remain in) the United States.
Another facet of the practice that involves birthing a child in the United States for the sake of citizenship was defined by Lindsey Graham. Rather than staying here to raise the child, he identified an act he calls "drop and leave." In this instance the soon-to-be mother crosses the border with the intention of giving birth in America. Once the child is born and issued an American birth certificate, mother and child return to the parent's home country.
Well-to-do South Korean women in particular make use of the birthright citizenship loophole of the 14th Amendment. Enabling their sons to avoid mandatory military service via an American citizenship, they also ensure that grown children can come to the United States for an education. As a fringe benefit, the grown children can bring over their entire families.
The women pay cash for the medical bills and time the process to fall within the confines of a three-month visitor visa. It is not illegal for this practice to take place and, not surprisingly, a cottage industry catering to the well-heeled clientele has sprung up in the United States and also in South Korea.
Birth tourism is also a hot commodity for Chinese women ready to have their children. Travel agencies that set up birth tours stress that they are not doing anything wrong. Technically and legally, they are correct.
After all, it is not against the law for a pregnant woman to enter the United States. At the same time, it is also not illegal for her to give birth here. In fact, for some Chinese women it may be considered an issue of circumnavigating their country's one-child rule.
Activists seeking to close the birthright citizenship loophole currently presented by the far-reaching interpretation of the 14th Amendment are vilified by illegal immigrant advocates as engaging in "anti-Hispanic sentiment."
Broadening the view just a bit, it is noteworthy that birthright citizenship (and the birth tourism it spawned) is a phenomenon that affects the United States because it offers something plenty of other countries are very careful to avoid.
For example, centrist-governed Finland (hardly a hotbed of racism) requires at least one parent to be a Finnish citizen before awarding citizenship to a child. Ireland, too, changed its rules in 2004 to no longer automatically confer citizenship on children born within its borders.
Political posturing aside, does birth tourism hurt or benefit the United States? Should it be a separate issue from the birthright citizenship dispute within the illegal immigration debate?
Sylvia Cochran offers an insider's perspective of the American immigration system. Having gone through the steps of becoming a citizen -- and currently living in a border state -- she brings hands-on familiarity with hot-button issues to the table.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110107/...zenship_debate
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