Jeb Bush: When I said 'anchor babies,' I meant Asians, not Latinos

Jeb Bush
(Image credit: YouTube.com/Jerry Pace)

Former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) clarified his recent use of the term "anchor babies," one many consider a racial slur, during a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border Monday. He deflected criticism that he's been calling for a crackdown on Latino immigration by shifting the focus to Asian immigrants' birthright citizenship.

"What I was talking about was the specific case of fraud being committed, where there's organized efforts," he said. "And frankly it's more related to Asian people, coming into our country, having children."

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Julie Kliegman

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.