Jeb Bush speaks up for illegal immigrants

Former Florida governor and potential presidential candidate Jeb Bush has voiced compassion for immigrants who come to America without proper legal authorisation, writes Michael Sean Winters.

“The way I look at this is, someone who comes to our country because they couldn’t come legally, they come to our country because their families – the dad who loved their children – was worried that their children didn’t have food on the table,” he said.

“And they wanted to make sure their family was intact, and they crossed the border because they had no other means to work to be able to provide for their family. Yes, they broke the law, but it’s not a felony,” Mr Bush said. “It’s an act of love. It’s an act of commitment to your family.” Mr Bush, whose brother and father both served as president, has long favoured comprehensive immigration reform. His wife is from Mexico, and he converted to Catholicism at the time of their wedding.

Other Republican contenders quickly pounced on Mr Bush’s remark. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said, “We’re a nation of immigrants, we need to celebrate that, but at the same time, rule of law matters.” Mr Bush’s remarks came one week after Cardinal Seán O’Malley led 10 other bishops from the bishops’ conference migration committee in a Mass at the US-Mexico border.

(See Nina Lakhani, page 20.)