Lawmaking on nationality is firmly connected to the lawmaking in the field of immigration, in a way, it is implausible to ignore demographic and immigration issues while enacting and interpreting nationality issues. This idea has been used as a pretext by many right-wing actors in various countries to restrict nationality, and in the United States it has manifested in concepts such as “Anchor Babies”. This discourse refers to the alleged practice of illegal immigrants, giving birth to a child in a host country in order to get the nationality or residency privileges thereof for the parents.
The present study, employing a descriptive-analytical method and, paying attention to the context of the development of legal rules, and using a micro-comparative method, examines this restrictive approach to immigration in the United States and Iran and elucidates the underlying concerns. Regardless of the necessity to accept or reject the concept of “Anchor Babies”, this study considers its conceptual framework and its positioning, in order to provide a basis for analyzing the issue within the law of Iran and for future research. It appears that, under the framework of the Single Article Act of 2019, a similar concern arises with regard to granting residence to the father of children born to an Iranian mother and a foreign father, without affecting these children’s right to Iranian nationality.