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Raul A. Reyes: Jeb Bush says 'anchor babies' isn't an offensive term, but Latinos disagree
He says immigrants aren't coming to the U.S. to have babies but to work
Editor’s Note: Raul A. Reyes is an attorney and member of the USA Today board of contributors. Follow him on Twitter @RaulAReyes. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) —
Open mouth, insert foot. On Thursday, Jeb Bush stepped into controversy when he used the loaded term “anchor babies” to refer to the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants. In a testy exchange with reporters in New Hampshire, Bush said that he doesn’t believe the expression is offensive and blamed Democrats for perpetuating the notion that it is an insult. “Do you have a better term?” he asked one reporter. “You give me a better term and I’ll use it.”
Despite his family ties to the Latino community, Bush is off base. The term “anchor baby” is a disgusting slur. It is inaccurate as well as offensive. It is dehumanizing to Latinos, immigrants and children who are as American as you and me.
The idea of an “anchor baby” is centered, in part, on the assumption that having an American-born child can protect undocumented people from deportation. The child, this line of thought goes, “anchors” a family in the United States and allows them to gain citizenship.
In fact, having a citizen child is no protection from possible deportation. In the first six months of 2011, for example, parents with U.S.-citizen children constituted 22% of deportees. Between 2010 and 2012, the United States deported nearly 205,000 parents of citizen kids. And in 2013, more than 72,000 were deported, according to The Huffington Post. (President Barack Obama’s executive action plan, which is tied up in the courts, would grant temporary deportation relief to parents of children who meet certain requirements.)
Another false notion surrounding “anchor babies” is that people from foreign countries are rushing here to have children. While there has been a phenomenon known as “birth tourism” among Asian mothers who temporarily relocate to the United States to have a child, their numbers are statistically small. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 7,955 children were born to foreign residents in 2012. Meanwhile research has shown that the overwhelming majority of undocumented immigrants come to the United States to work.
So while the ideas behind “anchor babies” are a myth, the sting of this term is real. Calling someone an “anchor baby” strips away their humanity and judges them based on a perception of their parents’ immigration status. The American Heritage Dictionary rightfully defines “anchor baby” as a pejorative term. Ironically, Bush has been a member of an advocacy group that has discouraged use of the term.
The Washington Post reports that the Hispanic Leadership Network, whose website still lists Bush as an advisory member, in 2013 issued a memo warning Republican lawmakers to avoid terms such as “illegals,” “aliens” – and “anchor babies.”
If Bush wants a better term for children born here to undocumented parents, how about calling them what they are? They are U.S. citizens. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2012, there were 4.5 million U.S.-born children younger than 18 living with at least one undocumented parent. When Bush and other Republican lawmakers disparage “anchor babies,” they are disparaging fellow citizens, and that is unacceptable. It also goes against American values of fairness and equality.
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Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush waves as he takes the stage as he formally announces he is joining the race for president with a speech June 15, 2015, at Miami Dade College in Miami.
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Former Florida governor Jeb Bush shakes hands with attendees after speaking at the 42nd annual Conservative Political Action Conference on February 27 in National Harbor, Maryland.
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Bush takes a selfie with a guest at a luncheon hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on February 18 in Chicago. Bush delivered his first major foreign policy speech at the event.
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Bush hands out items for Holiday Food Baskets to those in need outside the Little Havana offices of CAMACOL, the Latin American Chamber of Commerce on December 17 in Miami.
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Bush waves to the audience at the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Florida, on August 30, 2012, on the final day of the Republican National Convention.
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Bush (left) and wife Columba Bush attend the 2012 Lincoln Center Institute Gala at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on March 7, 2012, in New York City.
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President Barack Obama (left) speaks about Bush (center) while visiting Miami Central Senior High School on March 4, 2011 in Miami, Florida. The visit focused on education.
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Bush (left) speaks with Brazilian President in charge Jose Alancar during a meeting at Planalto Palace in Brasilia, April 17, 2007. Bush was in Brazil to speak about sugar and ethanol business.
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Then-Texas Governor Rick Perry (center) testifies as Bush (right) and then-Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano (left) listen during a hearing before the House Committee on Homeland Security on Capitol Hill October 19, 2005.
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Bush gives a thumbs up signal from his car as he leaves a local polling station after casting his vote in Coral Gables, Florida, November 5, 2002.
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Bush walks out of the West Wing after meeting with his brother, then-President George W. Bush, at the White House January 9, 2002. Governor Bush participated in the signing ceremony of the Everglades Protection Agreement.
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Then-Mexican President Vincente Fox (left) and Bush hold a press conference September 7, 2001, in Miami. Fox visited Florida to attend the Americas Conference and deliver a speech to speak about issues such as immigration.
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Then-President George W. Bush (right) is greeted by Jeb Bush on March 21, 2001, at Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Florida. President Bush was in Orlando to attend the American College of Cardiology Annual Convention.
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Bush speaks during a press conference at the Carandolet Government Palace in Quito, January 18, 2006. Bush and a businessmen delegation were in a two-day visit to talk about a free trade agreement.
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Bush speaks to reporters after meeting with the Florida State Cabinet at the Florida State Capitol Building November 16, 2000, in Tallahassee, Florida.
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Then-President George W. Bush (left) and Jeb Bush (right), raise their arms onstage following a rally at the Florida State Fairgrounds, October 25, 2000, in Brandon, Florida.
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Jeb Bush (left) and then-President George W. Bush stand with their arms around each other's shoulders at a rally in Miami, Florida, September 22, 2000.
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Then-President George W. Bush (right) and Jeb Bush go through the line for strawberries during a stop at the Stawberry Festival March 12, 2000 in Plant City, Florida.
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The Bush family, (left to right) former U.S. President George W., former Florida Governor Jeb, former President George H.W. and his wife Barbara, watch play during the Foursomes matches September 25, 1999 at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts the site of the 33rd Ryder Cup Matches.
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Former President George H.W. Bush (second left), his wife Barbara Bush (left), their son Jeb Bush (center), then-first lady Hillary Clinton (second right), and former then-President Bill Clinton (right) look up to see the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team November 6, 1997 at the conclusion of the dedication ceremony of the George Bush Library in College Station, Texas.
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Portrait of the Bush family in front of their Kennebunkport, Maine house August 24, 1986. Pictured, back row: Margaret holding daughter Marshall, Marvin Bush, Bill LeBlond. Pictured, front row: Neil Bush holding son Pierce, Sharon, George W. Bush holding daughter Barbara, Laura Bush holding daughter Jenna, Barbara Bush, George Bush, Sam LeBlond, Doro Bush Lebond, George P. (Jeb's son), Jeb Bush holding son Jebby, Columba Bush and Noelle Bush.
What is sad here is that Bush, along with the rest of the 2016 Republican presidential candidates, is being dragged down by the ongoing dominance of Donald Trump in the polls. Consider that Bush is far more moderate than The Donald on immigration matters. Unlike Trump, Bush does not want to end birthright citizenship, which is guaranteed under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution as well as more than a century of settled Supreme Court law.
In contrast to Trump’s endorsement of mass deportations, Bush favors a path to legal status for the undocumented. Yet perhaps Bush felt he had to ramp up his rhetoric to be heard among all the media focus on Trump’s campaign spectacle. If so, he only brought himself down to Trump’s level.
True, illegal immigration remains a contentious issue among the conservative base. But scapegoating American children is no substitute for thoughtful policy solutions. Bush is actually echoing Trump’s ugly messaging about Latinos and immigrants by using such hurtful language. In an election cycle where Republicans will need to get a higher share of the Latino vote than in years past to win the White House, this could well be Bush’s “self-deportation” moment – recalling the comment by Mitt Romney during the GOP primaries that Latino voters remembered during the 2012 general election.
In the midst of an ongoing debate over immigration, divisive rhetoric solves nothing. Sorry Jeb, but absolutely no good is served by using the term “anchor babies.”
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