Updated 12:42 AM EDT, Fri, Mar 29, 2024

Latinos Offended by 'Anchor Baby'! What You Need to Know About the Controversial Term

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The term "anchor baby" has become a vital part of a political debate in the United States but most Latinos see it as offensive term.

According to CNN, this term refers to "the idea that children born in the United States to non-citizen parents are automatically citizens."

The controversial term, as per NBC News, is also used to pertain to both children with parents not legally in the U.S. and those of legal immigrants.

Republicans Donald Trump and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush are the two personalities who have been defending the use of this term in their campaigns.

CNN wrote that those who use the term "allege that the child is an anchor baby because they can sponsor their parents for citizenship, though law prevents them from doing so until they turn 21."

The users of this term have also reportedly slammed the government's leniency on undocumented immigrants who have citizen children.

Bush, as per CNN, claimed that he did not regret using "anchor baby" in one of his radio interviews.

"No, I don't. I don't regret it. Do you have a better term? OK, you give me, you give me a better term and I'll use it," Bush added.

Trump also defended his use of the "anchor baby" terminology.

"You mean it's not politically correct, and yet everybody uses it? You know what? Give me a different term," the business magnate added.

But Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair Rep. Linda Sanchez, who is a daughter of Mexican immigrants, said, as quoted by NBC News, that the term is an attack to them.

"From the depths of my heart, I look at someone like Jeb Bush, who really should know better and that all I can think of is the Spanish term, sinvergüenza, which means somebody who is completely without shame to attack children this way," she explained.

Sanchez added that her parents have seven children in the United States and all of them are law abiding citizens and are paying their taxes.

"I'm a citizen of the United States. Does that make me an anchor baby?" asked Sanchez.

In explaining the issue, NPR said a lot of politicians have made their stand against birthright citizenship saying that there should be something done about women who just come to the U.S. to have their babies.

"If there's abuse, if people are bringing, pregnant women are coming in to have babies simply because they can do it, then there ought to be greater enforcement. That's [the] legitimate side of this. Better enforcement so that you don't have these, you know, 'anchor babies,' as they're described, coming into the country," Bush added.

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