Republican Congressman Racial Slur for Latinos: Don Young Backpedals But Does Not Apologize

Alaska's sole member of the House of Representatives is backpedaling after using a racial slur in a radio interview earlier this week but stopped short of issuing a full apology.

Republican Don Young, who has represented Alaska for over 40 years, used a derogatory term for migrant workers when talking about his childhood in California.

"My father had a ranch; we used to have 50 to 60 wetbacks to pick tomatoes. It takes two people to pick the same tomatoes now. It's all done by machine," Young said.

The term "wetback" is a slur that originally referred to undocumented immigrants and laborers from Mexico who made the hazardous journey into the United States by swimming across the Rio Grande River. In the 1950s, the U.S. government conducted "Operation Wetback," a crackdown on undocumented immigration.

Young tried to clarify his use of the term, saying it was common when he was a child. "I used a term that was commonly used during my days growing up on a farm in Central California. I know that this term is not used in the same way nowadays and I meant no disrespect," he said.

While some racial terms that are currently considered derogatory, like "Negro" or "Oriental" have some history of professional use (such as the United Negro College Fund), the term "wetback" was never used in polite company, and has always been considered derogatory by the people the term referred to.

The Republican establishment was quick to distance itself from Young's comments, a move that comes particularly quickly as the party attempts to rein in anti-immigrant sentiment in a push to make itself more palatable to Hispanic voters. In the 2012 presidential election, 71 percent of Latinos voted for their opponent, President Obama.

"Congressman Young's remarks were offensive and beneath the dignity of the office he holds. I don't care why he said it -- there's no excuse and it warrants an immediate apology," House Speaker John Boehner said.

Senator John McCain, who got into trouble for his own use of a racial slur back in 2000, seems to have learned some things in the intervening years. The leader of the bipartisan Senate group seeking to craft a comprehensive immigration reform bill said Young "should apologize immediately."