Ben Carson thinks debate over the term 'anchor babies' is overblown


On CNN's State of the Union Sunday, Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson dismissed the controversy over the term "anchor babies," which many consider a racial slur. Recently, Carson, along with Donald Trump and Jeb Bush, has used the term to refer to something he wants prohibited: the policy that illegal immigrants can have children in the U.S. who immediately become citizens.
"I think it's silly political correctness," he said. "Everybody knows what we're talking about. We need to talk about the actual issue and stop getting pulled off into the weeds."
Carson also addressed his controversial comments from Wednesday, when he suggested the U.S. use drone strikes to patrol the border with Mexico. He told a confused Jim Acosta he never meant he'd strike humans, just the caves he says they hide in.
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"Read my lips. I said there are caves that they utilize. Those caves can be eliminated," he said. "I'm not talking about killing people."
Catch Carson's full interview here.
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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
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