The term “anchor babies” refers to a child born in the US of an illegal alien, giving the baby’s immediate family members a US Citizen relative that can later file visa petitions for those family members, even if a long way off (petitioner must be 21 ). It also gives the mother a defense against deportation, citing great harm due to separation (The US citizen baby can’t be deported). I believe the term arises from the nautical term “kedging the anchor.”
Hope this satisfies.
Shyamala Gopalan was extending her student visa and requesting permission to work when Kamala was born. School transcripts show that Gopalan was not keeping up the required full course load and was retaking the same classes each semester. During this period her passport expired and deportation proceedings were initiated.
Gopala eventually left the United States for Canada, where she brought her children with her. Gopalan then used Kamala's birth in the United States to gain permanent resident status in the United States to obtain a visa to return, and then eventually full naturalization.
You can see all of the documents and paper trail here: https://kamalakancel.com/
-PJ