"Anchor Baby" Rhetoric Denounced

by Alex DiBranco · 2010-04-07 17:15:00 UTC
Topics:

If Steve Levy actually becomes governor of New York, I'll probably have to move. It's just one of those things.

Levy's divisive, hate-filled, derogatory anti-immigrant rhetoric motivated Attorney General candidate Sean Coffey to give a frank interview condemning the gubernatorial candidate's use of the pejorative "anchor babies" to refer to the U.S.-born children of foreign women. Coffey, dubbed "Wall Street's New Nemesis" for his work as a lawyer getting the fat cats to share the wealth, told the paper: "I must be an anchor baby." The son of Irish immigrants, Coffey was born in America before his parents acquired citizenship.

Meanwhile, in the Fontana school district in California, a school board member apologized for using that derogatory term. The local newspaper writes: "To most Americans whose parents are or were immigrants, the term 'anchor baby' is a slap in the face with the same force the 'N' word has for African Americans, the term 'wetback' has for Mexicans, and the 'F' ('Fontucky') word has for proud Fontana residents." Board Member Kathy Binks explained that she was unaware the characterization was offensive, agreed to help with a city-wide campaign against hate, and even herself signed the petition calling for her apology (now that's really classy), saying "I am stunned at what that term means. It's a wakeup call for me."

Another wake-up call: the nativist California Coalition for Immigration Reform proposed a state ballot initiative that would have stripped away automatic citizenship for children born in the U.S. It won't be on the ballot in June due to a lack of signatures, but anti-immigrant organizers are gearing up to try again in two years, seeking help from the deep, white supremacist-tainted pockets of NumbersUSA. Looks like that campaign against hate will be needed.

H/T: Bender's Immigration Bulletin

Photo credit: Svadilfari

Alex DiBranco is a Change.org Editor who has worked for the Nation, Political Research Associates, and the Center for American Progress. She is now based in New York City.
PREVIOUS STORY:
DHS Analysis Finds That 287(g) Program Is a Big, Fat Flop
NEXT STORY:
Community Members Fight Detention of High School Graduate with a Mental Disability

COMMENTS (6)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.