Jeb Bush
Former Florida Governor and probably 2016 Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush speaks at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire April 17, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Former Florida governor, and likely Republican presidential candidate, Jeb Bush released a Spanish-language video on 5 May wishing Mexican-Americans a happy Cinco de Mayo. Bush, who leads in GOP primary polls, is married to Mexican-American philanthropist Columba Bush.

"Here in the US, Cinco de Mayo has become a date when we recognize and celebrate our relationship and our ties with Mexico and the great contributions of the Mexican-American community to our country," Bush said in Spanish, with English subtitles running throughout the video.

The GOP leader added: "For me this relationship is very profound. My wife Columba was born in Mexico, my family has always had strong ties with Mexico and I have great respect and affection for our neighbours."

Bush has significant support from the Latino community, especially in regard to his views on immigration reform. He recently courted criticism from conservatives after saying that illegal immigration should be viewed as an "act of love" rather than a "felony".

"There are means by which we can control our border better than we have. And there should be penalties for breaking the law," Bush said. "But the way I look at this - and I'm going to say this, and it'll be on tape and so be it. 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. 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. It's an act of love. It's an act of commitment to your family. I honestly think that that is a different kind of crime that 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."

The likely presidential candidate recently topped a NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll along with fellow Floridian Senator Marco Rubio.

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