Jeb Bush in choppy waters for using ‘anchor babies’ term

The term "anchor babies" has become a lightning rod political issue in the stormy tussle between Donald Trump and Jeb Bush, the two leading candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination.

Struggling to respond to Trump’s strong lead in the polls due to the property magnate’s aggressive opposition to illegal immigrants, Bush, a moderate on immigration, landed himself in choppy waters by using the term – and in more trouble this week by trying to justify his use of it.

An anchor baby is a phrase used to describe a child born to a non-citizen in a country that bestows citizenship on children born within its borders, particularly when viewed as providing a benefit to family members seeking citizenship or legal residency.

Some in the Latino community in the United States regard the phrase as derogatory. They call it a slur on US-born children of non-citizen immigrant parent, stigmatising them from birth.

Bush, the former Florida governor with two former presidents in his family, used the term in an interview on the campaign trail last week. He called for “greater enforcement” to prevent people coming into the country to have children who automatically secure birthright citizenship or “anchor babies, as they’re described”, he said.

His use of the term surprised many, given that he is married to a Mexican woman, speaks Spanish, lives in Miami with its large immigrant population and has adopted a sensitive, middle-ground approach on the subject. Bush has also defended so-called “undocumented” immigrants, saying that many entered the US illegally as “an act of love” to support their families.

The choice of language on this occasion was seen by some as a lurch to the right in reaction to Trump. The businessman has said he would deport the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants and end birthright citizenship for US- born children of non-citizen immigrants, as enshrined in the US Constitution since the 14th Amendment was passed in 1868.

When asked to clarify his comments, Bush dug himself in deeper, saying he was referring to “a specific case of fraud”.

“Frankly, it is more related to Asian people coming into our country, having children in that organised efforts, taking advantage of a noble concept, which is this birthright citizenship,” he said on Monday.

Chill out

Bush took issue with people being easily offended, saying that nothing he had said should be seen as derogatory and calling on people to “chill out a little bit as it relates to the political correctness”.

Brian Schatz, a Democratic senator from Hawaii, called on Bush to retract his comments and apologise to the Asian community.

Trump jumped on his remarks, as well, posting the message on Twitter: “Asians very offended that JEB said that anchor babies applies to them as a way to be more politically correct to hispanics. A mess!”

Tourist visas

There appears to be some truth to Bush’s remarks about illegal “birth tourism” for Chinese nationals. The New York Times reported in March about a raid by federal immigration agents on businesses in southern

California

that arranged for pregnant women to travel to the US on tourist visas to give birth to children.

The Centre for Immigration Studies, a research organisation that supports tougher laws against illegal immigrants, estimates that out of about 900,000 children born in the US to foreign nationals every year, about 36,000 are born to “birth tourists”.

Despite the data, Bush's ha-fisted explanation will win him no fans in a key voting bloc, minorities, whose support the Republican Party needs to prevent a third consecutive Democratic presidency.