Thread: UPDATE: Toys'r'us CAVES IN TO THE ILLEGALS

Hope all of you that called thanking them will retract your statements.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... le-ON.html

'First baby' of 2007 runs afoul of immigration debate

New York Times News Service
Jan. 5, 2007 07:56 PM


It seemed like a perfect formula for good publicity: A national sweepstakes would award a $25,000 U.S. savings bond to the first American baby born in 2007, courtesy of the toy chain Toys "R" Us and its Babies "R" Us division.

Instead, after disqualifying a Chinese-American baby girl born in New York Downtown Hospital at the stroke of midnight on New Year's, the toy company finds itself caught in the glare of the immigration debate, stumbling over the nation's new demographic realities.

The baby girl, Yuki Lin, was a U.S. citizen from the second the ball dropped in Times Square, where the Toys "R" Us flagship store draws thousands of shoppers from around the world. But like six out of 10 babies born in the city - including at least two others born in Brooklyn at about the same moment - she has immigrant parents. And according to the contest's fine print, the chain decided, she was ruled out because her mother was not a legal resident.


The first baby of the year is usually a one-day story. But Albert H. Wang, a corporate lawyer who read about Yuki Lin's lost chance on the Web site of the Chinese-language newspaper The World Journal, was outraged enough to start an e-mail campaign that is enlisting the ire of prominent Chinese-Americans like the president of the Asian American Business Development Center and officers of the Organization of Chinese Americans.

Their criticism, and threats of a media campaign against the company, come just a month after the chain opened its first store in China, in Shanghai.

"They want business from China," said Wang, 39, adding that most of the chain's toys are made by Chinese workers in China. "But when it comes to this Chinese-American U.S. citizen, she was deprived of $25,000 intended to be used for her college education, because of who her parents are."

Kathleen Waugh, a spokeswoman for the company, confirmed Friday that Yuki Lin, born at 6.5 ounces and 19 inches long, had been close to winning the prize. The baby won a random drawing to break a three-way tie with hospitals in Gainesville, Ga., and Bay Shore, N.Y., which also claimed a baby born at midnight.

But, she added, "In working with New York Downtown Hospital to verify the potential winner's information and obtain a signed affidavit of eligibility - which is required under the official rules of the sweepstakes - the sweepstakes administrator was informed that the mother of the baby born at New York Downtown Hospital was not a legal resident of the United States." Contest rules say that only mothers who are legal residents are eligible, Waugh said, adding that such requirements are common in sweepstakes.

The award went instead to the runner-up in the drawing, Jayden Swain, born 19 seconds after midnight at Northeast Georgia Medical Center to Renee Swain, 20, described by her mother as "a black American." "She's an American all the way," Swain's mother, Janet K. Keller, said in a telephone interview.

The baby at Bay Shore was born to a couple from El Salvador.

Wang and other Chinese-Americans say the winner was to be the baby, not the mother, and they see implications of second-class citizenship that strike an ugly chord. It only seemed to add insult to injury, they said, that the baby was instead given a $100 gift basket, just like all the others the chain gives to the first New Year's babies born in any hospital that signs up for it.

"People are just pretty much outraged," said John Wang, president of the 13-year-old Asian American Business Development Center, on Wall Street, adding that he was perplexed by the company's actions.

"The schools accept children whose parents are illegal aliens in this country, so why is Toys R' Us taking this kind of position?" he asked. "They're supported by many people, whether they're legal or illegal, shopping in their stores, and they're injecting themselves into this debate."

The parents could not be reached for comment, and their immigration status was unclear. Vanessa Warner, a spokeswoman for Downtown Hospital, would not answer questions about the event, though an upbeat account of the birth and photos of the parents and medical team were on the hospital Web site Friday.





Leo Y. Lee, 49, an engineer who is past national vice president of the Organization of Chinese Americans, an advocacy organization, pointed out that the savings bond was awarded in the name of the baby, not the mother, and that there was no legal requirement for a rule barring the American-born child of an illegal immigrant.

"I am strongly opposed to the Toys R' Us decision to give the award to another baby just based solely on the mother's status," he said. His group, he said, does not "condone or approve illegal immigration, but anyone who is here should be protected by law - especially a baby with the same rights as any other citizen."





But comments by Keller, the grandmother of the winning baby, hinted at the wrath that the company risked from the other side at a time when the most stringent critics of illegal immigration have called for an end to birthright citizenship, saying the children born to illegal immigrants are "anchor babies" who encourage illegal entry.

"If she's an illegal alien, that makes the baby illegal," said Keller, 50. Told otherwise, she remarked, "Sounds like a double standard to me," adding, "She was disqualified - that should be it. Don't go changing your mind now."

Adding to the confusion were promotional materials that called for "all expectant New Year's mothers" to apply to the contest, and allowed hospitals and Ob/Gyn offices to apply on behalf of the patients. The hospitals were offered a chance to win a $10,000 prenatal education grant. About 8,000 mothers and more than 800 hospitals participated in the contest, Waugh said.

This is the key sentence, which I didn't see in your post.

NEW YORK - After coming under fire for denying a Chinese-American infant a $25,000 prize in a New Year's baby contest because her mother was not a legal U.S. resident, Toys "R" Us Inc. said Saturday evening that it had reversed its decision.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070106/ap_ ... by_dispute

Toys 'R' Us changes baby contest ruling
Sat Jan 6, 6:53 PM ET

NEW YORK - After coming under fire for denying a Chinese-American infant a $25,000 prize in a New Year's baby contest because her mother was not a legal U.S. resident, Toys "R" Us Inc. said Saturday evening that it had reversed its decision.
ADVERTISEMENT

The company said it would award each of the three babies in the grand prize pool of the "First Baby of the Year Sweepstakes" a $25,000 savings bond. Toys "R" us is the parent company of Babies "R" Us, which sponsored the contest.

Toys "R" Us, which opened its first mainland China store less than a month ago, changed its mind after Chinese-American advocates protested and the story was reported in ethnic newspapers and The New York Times, among other outlets.

"We love all babies," the company said in a written statement Saturday. "Our sweepstakes was intended to welcome the first baby of 2007 and prepare for its future. We deeply regret that this sweepstakes became a point of controversy."

The prize was originally supposed to go to Yuki Lin, who was born at the stroke of midnight at New York Downtown Hospital, according to hospital officials.

She won a random drawing with two other babies for the $25,000 savings bond, said Toys "R" Us spokeswoman Kathleen Waugh. The Wayne, N.J.-based company had said it would go to the first American baby born in 2007.

Yuki was born an American citizen. But the company disqualified her because "the sweepstakes administrator was informed that the mother of the baby born at New York Downtown Hospital was not a legal resident of the United States," Waugh said.

Although promotional materials called for "all expectant New Year's mothers" to apply, Waugh said eligibility rules required babies' mothers to be legal residents. Many sweepstakes have such requirements, Waugh said.

Attempts to reach Yuki's parents, Yan Zhu Liu and Han Lin, 22, were unsuccessful Saturday. Their immigration status was not clear.

The original prize was instead awarded to runner-up Jayden Swain, born 19 seconds after midnight at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, Ga. The third baby in the running was born in Bay Shore, N.Y., to a couple from
El Salvador.

Chinese-American advocates had complained that the toy company's decision smacks of second-class citizenship. They said the prize should was supposed to be for the child, not the mother. One attorney launched an e-mail campaign on the issue.

"People are just pretty much outraged," John Wang, president of the New York-based Asian American Business Development Center, told the Times for Saturday's editions.

On the other side, Janet K. Keller, a grandmother of the winning baby, said revisiting the contest would be unfair. "She was disqualified — that should be it," she told the Times. "Don't go changing your mind now."

UPDATE: Toys'r'us CAVES IN TO THE ILLEGALS

After reading the story, I don't see any evidence that Toys 'R' Us caved to the illegals?

I copied the article fully - it just doesn't appear in the azcentral version.
Paragraph #2 is pretty close:

Instead, after disqualifying a Chinese-American baby girl born in New York Downtown Hospital at the stroke of midnight on New Year's, the toy company finds itself caught in the glare of the immigration debate, stumbling over the nation's new demographic realities.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Cowards!!!

CountFloyd wrote:

Quote:
NEW YORK - After coming under fire for denying a Chinese-American infant a $25,000 prize in a New Year's baby contest because her mother was not a legal U.S. resident, Toys "R" Us Inc. said Saturday evening that it had reversed its decision.

Oops, guess that clears up my earlier confusion.

Original story posted by Dixie:

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/16399682.htm


There was only supposed to be one $25,000 winner and the rules stated that you must be a legal US citizen to enter. The Chinese couple are here illegally and therefore, their baby got disqualified. After the illegals got an attorney, then Toys'r'us gave THREE awards - and included the illegal parents.

Originally Posted by TexasCowgirl

I copied the article fully - it just doesn't appear in the azcentral version.
Paragraph #2 is pretty close:

Instead, after disqualifying a Chinese-American baby girl born in New York Downtown Hospital at the stroke of midnight on New Year's, the toy company finds itself caught in the glare of the immigration debate, stumbling over the nation's new demographic realities.

The story you posted is a day old.

The current version of the story is linked in my post above.

Thanks Count Floyd - sorry for the confusion
Updated story:

Toys 'R' Us changes baby contest ruling 1 hour, 4 minutes ago

NEW YORK - After coming under fire for denying a Chinese-American infant a $25,000 prize in a New Year's baby contest because her mother was not a legal U.S. resident, Toys "R" Us Inc. said Saturday evening that it had reversed its decision.


The company said it would award each of the three babies in the grand prize pool of the "First Baby of the Year Sweepstakes" a $25,000 savings bond. Toys "R" us is the parent company of Babies "R" Us, which sponsored the contest.

Toys "R" Us, which opened its first mainland China store less than a month ago, changed its mind after Chinese-American advocates protested and the story was reported in ethnic newspapers and The New York Times, among other outlets.

"We love all babies," the company said in a written statement Saturday. "Our sweepstakes was intended to welcome the first baby of 2007 and prepare for its future. We deeply regret that this sweepstakes became a point of controversy."

The prize was originally supposed to go to Yuki Lin, who was born at the stroke of midnight at New York Downtown Hospital, according to hospital officials.

She won a random drawing with two other babies for the $25,000 savings bond, said Toys "R" Us spokeswoman Kathleen Waugh. The Wayne, N.J.-based company had said it would go to the first American baby born in 2007.

Yuki was born an American citizen. But the company disqualified her because "the sweepstakes administrator was informed that the mother of the baby born at New York Downtown Hospital was not a legal resident of the United States," Waugh said.

Although promotional materials called for "all expectant New Year's mothers" to apply, Waugh said eligibility rules required babies' mothers to be legal residents. Many sweepstakes have such requirements, Waugh said.

Attempts to reach Yuki's parents, Yan Zhu Liu and Han Lin, 22, were unsuccessful Saturday. Their immigration status was not clear.

The original prize was instead awarded to runner-up Jayden Swain, born 19 seconds after midnight at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, Ga. The third baby in the running was born in Bay Shore, N.Y., to a couple from El Salvador.

Chinese-American advocates had complained that the toy company's decision smacks of second-class citizenship. They said the prize should was supposed to be for the child, not the mother. One attorney launched an e-mail campaign on the issue.

"People are just pretty much outraged," John Wang, president of the New York-based Asian American Business Development Center, told the Times for Saturday's editions.

On the other side, Janet K. Keller, a grandmother of the winning baby, said revisiting the contest would be unfair. "She was disqualified — that should be it," she told the Times. "Don't go changing your mind now."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070106/ap_ ... by_dispute

Is anybody really surprised by this?

There must be tens of thousands of "immigrant" pressure groups operating all across this country who just salivate at the opportunity to insert themselves into a situation like this.

Of course the corporation is going to fold. The only surprising thing is that they actually did the right thing initially.