Standing directly at odds with the views of many in his Republican party, Jeb Bush said that illegal immigrants come to the United States as an "act of love" for their families rather than to commit crimes, Reuters reported.
Bush, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2016, has been garnering loads of attention due to speculations of his decision to enter the presidential race. A decision will be made by the end of the year, he said.
Speaking at an event marking the 25th anniversary of his father's presidency at his presidential library and museum in College Station, Texas, the former Florida governor tackled the issue of divisive immigration, CBS News reported.
"I think we need to kind of get beyond the harsh political rhetoric to a better place," Bush, the son of the 41st president and brother of the 43rd, said on Sunday. "I'm going to say this and it will be on tape and so be it," Bush said in an interview with Fox News host Shannon Bream in an event at the Texas presidential library of his father, George H.W. Bush."
He continued, "The way I look at this is someone who comes to our country because they couldn't come legally ... 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."
"It's an act of love, it's an act of commitment to your family."
Bush, 61, added: "I honestly think that that is a different kind of crime. There should be a price paid, but it shouldn't rile people up that people are actually coming to this country to provide for their families."
However, Americans' lingering attitudes towards his brother, George W. Bush, seem to suggest caution and weariness if he were to run for presidency, recent polls reveal.
"In a Washington Post/ABC News poll last month, nearly half the voters surveyed said they 'definitely would not' vote for Jeb Bush in 2016 - a level of disapproval matched only by Romney," Reuters reported.
