By: Austin Brown and Joy Nemerson
Throughout American history there have been many who have wanted to limit immigration to the country. The most recent rise of arguments against birth tourism is just the most recent example of these attitudes. Many of the arguments used today to display displeasure with the birth tourism phenomenon are the same arguments used against immigrants in all periods of American history. As America is a nation made up of immigrants it is simply shameful the way the country year after year discriminates against people of all types and turns them away from a land that is supposedly full of promise.
The 14th amendment is the reason birth tourism is a common occurrence in the US. The first section of the amendment states
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Without this section there would be no birth tourism because it states that citizenship is granted to any person born on US soil regardless of the origin of their parents. Some have advocated for laws to be made that close this perceived loophole. Any laws made against birth tourists would be no different than previous laws that have restricted immigration. In particular, there is a history of laws in the US that were created that explicitly target Chinese people and immigration from China.
Some of the first and most extreme of these anti Chinese laws were the Anti-Coolie Act of 1862 and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The Anti-Coolie Act was an act to protect free white labor against competition with Chinese “coolie” labor and to discourage immigration of Chinese people to California. In the height of the gold rush the California legislature sought to pacify white laborers about salary competition by placing a tax that required anyone of Chinese origin who applied for a license to work in a mine or to do business of any kind to pay $2.50 a month. As the Chinese workers were only getting $3 to $4 a month, at least one full dollar less than American workers, this tax was a huge burden for them to endure.
Even with the implementation of the tax Chinese immigrants did not give up on their attempts of seeking the American dream. The Chinese Exclusion Act came following the long period of high Chinese immigration and job competition. By 1870 over 8% of the population and 25% of the labor force in California were Chinese. This competition combined with an economic downturn led to fierce anti-Chinese feelings, which culminated in the passing of this act in 1882. The act became the first law to exclusively restrict immigration of a specific ethnic group or race to the US. The goal of the act was mainly to limit the immigration of “unskilled laborers” but in reality was applied to all Chinese, as it was hard for them to prove that they weren’t unskilled. Originally it was intended to only be in place for 10 years but after many renewals it was not completely removed until 1943, 61 years later. Over that period immigration from China was almost nonexistent and the Chinese already in America faced fierce discrimination.
Today there is a rising amount of discussion over whether laws should be passed to restrict birth tourism. Much in the way that the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Anti-Coolie movement was intended to only apply to “unskilled laborers,” any law against birth tourism would be used in a manner that only applies to certain groups. As the birth tourism is mainly associated with Chinese and Latin American immigrants these current anti immigration sentiments seem to serve as ways for people to target these specific groups. It would be much more likely that pregnant Chinese woman would be turned away as opposed to a pregnant English woman.
America is a nation that was founded and built by immigrants. Instead of creating laws that oppose any form of immigration, we should be embracing and welcoming immigrants. If a person follows all citizenship or naturalization laws, the way in which citizenship is obtained or the reason for obtaining it should not matter. These birth tourists are merely seeking a better life for themselves and their families. Why should anyone try to restrict people from finding a better life? Is that not what the American Dream is all about?
Sources:
http://www.lehigh.edu/~ineng/VirtualAmericana/chineseimmigrationact.html