Dear Mexican,
What is an anchor baby? I am a 45-year-old male born in the U.S. My parents were born in ex-Yugoslavia (she in Serbia, he in Croatia). My father arrived here via a green card about four years before I was born, and my mother arrived 16 months before I was born after being petitioned to enter by my father. I was the first person in my family, on either side, to be born in the U.S. My father then told my mother that they would now never be deported because they have an American-born son. Many years later, they both became citizens. Was I an anchor baby?
Spanish-Speaking Serbian-American Living in Houston
Dear Yugo,
A so-called anchor baby is an American citizen—says so in the United States Constitution. In popular parlance, it’s a term used by Know-Nothings to deride the children of immigrants whom relatives can use to sponsor visas and other government goodies. Though the Know-Nothings would love to have you believe only illegal Mexicans are capable of anchor babies, cases like yours have been occurring since the days of Virginia Dare. The earliest mainstream-media reference the Mexican found was a January 7, 1997 Providence Journal-Bulletin story that quoted Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) president Dan Stein as saying that public benefits “encourage immigrant families to conceive ‘anchor babies’ so they can remain in this country and collect benefits.” Stein—whose organization is listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center—can’t claim the creator’s mantle, however: The excellent etymology Web site doubletongued.org lists a 1996 Usenet posting as the term’s earliest recorded date, and I’m sure dinosaurs like the California Coalition for Immigration Reform and other pioneer anti-immigrant pendejos bandied it around before.
As to how all this relates to you: You weren’t an anchor baby. Your parents were already here legally, and your citizenship can’t stop your parents from a trip with la migra. Hope this clears things up, and make sure to boil the Houston water before you drink it!
I have read your book and religiously follow your stuff online. But I am still not informed enough about the sex lives of Mexican men. I fell in love with a man in Mexico, and I’m trying to find him again, but I have a few questions. First, what is the average penis size of a Mexican man? I know that women are supposed to remain virgins until marriage—is it the same with men? If not, do they sleep around a lot? Also, are Mexican men good in bed?
The Suzanne Who Fell Hard for Reno
Dear Gabacha,
Penis-size surveys are like Guatemalans—there are a bunch of them but few are reputable. Using my own wang and life as an example, I’ll say that the average Mexican man packs John Holmes in his pants; has no expectations of virginity before marriage but expects his conquests to have seen a penis only in a World Book Encyclopedia entry; beds 10 mujeres a night; and is such an extraordinary lover that he could make a chick orgasm by uncapping his bottle of Tapatío.
