U.S. has double-standard in regard to "good" illegal immigrants

When people talk about illegal immigration, the image they have is the short, dark, swarthy, stereotypical “Mexican.” The image often conjures-up contempt or indifference; I know this whenever I get on a bus and no one will sit next to me as if I am some kind of pestilence—save for the vagrant with the mud-caked pants or the tough guy with personality issues. Such likely explains why most Americans are purposefully ignorant of Asian and European illegal immigration; these groups illicit “positive” images, and if just a few of them are illegal, who cares? Someone once posted an indignant response to a comment I posted to an immigration story on the Seattle Times website—that there was no illegal immigration from Asia to this country, and even if there was it was just a few people overstaying their visas. Another person accused me of “inventing” the figure of 13 percent of all illegal immigrants in this country of Asian descent; of course, I could have mentioned that almost one-in-ten illegal immigrants are from Europe and Africa, according to the Pew Foundation.

But last summer, The New York Times did quote Pew Foundation demographers stating that 13 to 15 percent of Asians in this country are here illegally—which is close to the ratio of Latinos who are in the country illegally. The only guesstimate I found concerning the percentage of non-Latino illegal immigrants who “overstayed” their visas was a 2006 AP story that gave a figure of 25 to 40 percent—meaning that the large majority did enter the country illegally. Another AP story that year offered this quote from a Korean college student in California: "In the Latino community, people come here illegally for jobs. For us, a whole family comes here for a student, and many stay illegally." She asked that her whole name not be printed, because both of her parents were living in Los Angeles illegally. This quote is interesting because it suggests that while Latinos come here individually in search of work, Asians are more likely to find ways to bring the whole family; one Vietnamese immigrant whose parents are also in the country illegally justified their early arrival by saying that it was unfair to make them wait the 10 years required for extended family members to immigrate to the U.S.. 

Of course, there are other, extralegal ways to immigrate into this country increasingly employed by Asians and Eastern Europeans. In the news is a “birth hotel” located in Chino Hills, California, where a “seven-bedroom home is associated with the website AsiamChild.com, which reportedly sells the opportunity for women to have a baby in the U.S. for an estimated $5,000 to $15,000. Materials on the site suggest that women wear dark clothing and hide their stomachs, so as not to draw attention to their pregnancies” according to an ABC News report. Local residents have staged protests around the facility, calling for it to be shut-down. 

An NBC report noted that there were “dozens of websites courting parents from China, South Korea, and Eastern Europe. In addition to the sites pushing the idea of a free education, the news outlet found they also aimed to sell the prospect of green cards for the entire family once the child turns 21.” Some people find no particular  issues with this. A woman who ran one of these birth centers claimed that “These women are the economic elite…and they are fueling the economy here. I take them on shopping trips…one woman bought 15 Coach bags.” 

Of course, this begs a question: If these women are doing so well in their country of origin, why do they need to have a child born in the U.S.? They certainly don’t fit the description of immigrants coming to this country looking to better their lives—especially in countries that the U.S. actually supports regimes that foster economic and social oppression. It seems that this country has a curious double-standard in regard to illegal immigration, and it all depends on the way you are “perceived”—and entirely based on racial stereotypes. 

In another Times story last year, supportive, flowery language was again used for Chinese women “gaming the system”: One “maternity matron” said that “her clients all want the comforts and familiarity of the traditional Chinese practice of zuo yuezi, a term used for the month of rest and recuperation for the mother following birth.  According to Chinese tradition, the mother rests while the babies are cared for by a nurse.  Feeding, bathing and sleeping times are meticulously organized in charts.  A chef cooks a special diet of Chinese food with lots of meat, seafood, and cooked vegetables for new mothers.  They eat five times a day, and do special exercises to slowly build back their core muscles…Chinese culture has a lot to offer in terms of pregnancy and new mothers’ health,” according to “Katie,” whose business “also helps the women navigate the logistics of obtaining American birth certificates, passports, and Social Security numbers for their babies before they fly home to China.”

One of the birth mothers claimed that for her child, it was an opportunity to experience both Chinese and American culture. How nice. But of course there is a more practical reason: “The mentality is healthier for children in America. China, the children are under too much pressure in school and they have to take too many tests” said another woman who called herself “Emmy.” Another reason may be that these children won't have to pay the hefty foreign student tuition  that schools like the University of Washington seem to depend upon to maintain costs.

There has not been any great effort to close down these birth facilities, and women cannot be denied visas simply because they are pregnant. However, last year three “birthing centers” were shut down in San Gabriel, California because they were “unlicensed,” illegally reconstructed and were a de facto “business” in a no-businesses residential area.