Jeb Bush continued Monday to dismiss criticism for using the term "anchor babies," saying that it is "ludicrous" that he is being accused of using a term that insults immigrants, NBC News reported.
"Nothing about what I've said should be viewed as derogatory towards immigrants at all," the GOP presidential candidate said after meeting with local officials near the U.S.-Mexico border in McAllen, TX. "This is all how politics plays. And by the way, I think we need to take a step back and chill out a little bit as it relates to the political correctness that somehow you have to be scolded every time you say something."
Bush said that he used the term "anchor babies" specifically to refer to fraud -- sometimes called "birth tourism" -- in a "specific targeted kind of case" involving mothers who travel to the United States only to win citizenship for their unborn children.
Bush used the term "anchor babies" during an interview with conservative radio host Bill Bennett last week.
