On August 20, ABC News’ Tom Llamas got into a heated exchange with 2016 presidential candidate Donald Trump over his use of the term “anchor baby” when discussing illegal immigration. Jeb Bush found himself in some hot water when he said the term mostly applies to Asians. At the same time, CNN’s MJ Lee wrote that he’s partially right concerning “maternity tourism,” in which there have been efforts to crackdown on the practice. Yet, it probably wasn’t the best move communications-wise to blame another ethnic group, where Republican support has precipitously declined. That’s a debate for another time, however.
Are ordinary Americans offended by the term?
Last week, MRCTV’s Dan Joseph walked around Washington D.C., specifically the Smithsonian Metro station, to ask tourists, DC residents, or anyone who would be willing to be interviewed, if the term “anchor baby” is an offensive term.
One couple from San Diego, California is familiar with the situation. The woman Joseph interviewed worked at the University of California Medical Center, where she said very pregnant Mexican women in labor would enter the center and sit in the waiting room to deliver their babies on American soil.
Overall, not many people interviewed by Joseph found the term offensive as a racial slur. One woman found it offensive because the term “makes the child out to be the enemy.” Another man said it’s offensive because it’s “intellectually lazy,” though he admitted that pregnant women coming over to have their children in the United States probably does happen.
