Why Jeb Bush’s ‘immigrants are more fertile’ is so puzzling

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Jeb Bush this year at CPAC

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush turned heads and lit up Twitter this week by stating in a speech to the Faith and Freedom Coalition that “immigrants are more fertile.” 

But while the appropriateness and accuracy of Bush’s comments can be debated, the bigger question is, what was he trying to tell the conservative gathering?

In context, Bush was talking about how many people would soon need social support as they reach retirement age. And he was saying, given relatively low birth rates in the U.S., there wouldn’t be enough people to support retirees in our current system.

But why would he try to convince conservatives that immigration was necessary in order to strengthen the social safety net?

See the story at Slate.