Should the term "illegal alien" be used to define persons in violation of immigration law?
PRO (yes)
CON (no)
The Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform (CAIR), in a section entitled "Terminology, 'undocumented worker,' versus 'illegal alien,'" on its website (accessed Jan. 18, 2007), offered the following:
"The terms 'undocumented worker,' 'undocumented immigrant,' and 'undocumented alien' are often used to describe those who have broken the law of our land to enter and work in our country illegally. These are all misleading terms, deliberately used to 'soften' the issue. The term 'undocumented' implies that foreign nationals have the unconditional right to violate America's borders and immigration laws. An 'immigrant' is an invited guest - a person who comes to a country where they are not a citizen in order to settle there. The term 'immigrant' implies permanent, legal, residency. The accurate description of a foreign national illegally residing in America is illegal alien."
Adversity.Net, a civil rights organization based in Maryland, in a section entitled "Definitions: Alien, Immigrant, Illegal Alien, Undocumented Immigrant," on its website (accessed Jan. 18, 2007), offered the following:
"These related terms are often used in deliberately confusing and conflicting ways. In popular usage, an 'immigrant' is generally understood to be a person who migrates to another country... therefore, an 'immigrant' is an alien admitted to the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident...
By contrast, an 'alien' is generally understood to be a foreigner who does not owe allegiance to our country...
The term 'illegal alien' is predicated upon U.S. immigration law... An 'undocumented immigrant' is the same as an 'illegal alien...' Most U.S. citizens do not use the term 'undocumented immigrant' and prefer, instead, the more descriptive and accurate term 'illegal alien.' The term 'undocumented immigrant' is used by those who believe in 'open borders...' "
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), in a report entitled "Legal and Policy Analysis: Local Illegal Immigration Relief Act Ordinances," from the Publications section on its website (accessed Jan. 18, 2007), offered the following:
"Not only is the term 'illegal alien' not a legal term of art that can be applied to describe an individual’s immigration status, the fact is that a person’s immigration status can change from unlawfully present to lawfully present or from lawfully present to unlawfully present in a short period of time.
Moreover, many families are of 'mixed' immigration status, meaning that some households have citizens and lawfully present immigrants living under the same roof as unauthorized immigrants, and a landlord’s refusal to rent property to legally present individuals in such households could subject property owners to liability, as well."
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), in an article entitled "NAHJ Urges News Media to Stop Using Dehumanizing Terms When Covering Immigration," on its website (accessed Jan. 19, 2007), stated the following:
"The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) calls on our nation’s news media to use accurate terminology in its coverage of immigration and to stop dehumanizing undocumented immigrants...
NAHJ is concerned with the increasing use of pejorative terms to describe the estimated 11 million undocumented people living in the United States. NAHJ is particularly troubled with the growing trend of the news media to use the word 'illegals' as a noun, shorthand for 'illegal aliens.'
Using the word in this way is grammatically incorrect and crosses the line by criminalizing the person, not the action they are purported to have committed. NAHJ calls on the media to never use 'illegals' in headlines... [and] to avoid 'Illegal alien.' Alternative terms are 'undocumented worker,' or 'undocumented immigrant.'"
Cindy Rodríguez, Vice-President of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, in an Apr. 4, 2006 Denver Post article entitled "'Illegal' As a Noun Breaks Law of Reason," offered the following:
"If you can control the words people use, you can frame the issue. In effect, you control the way people view it. That is exactly what is happening with the immigration debate ...some politicians are taking the easy way out by focusing on undocumented immigrants. Those politicians are being goaded by nativists, racists and brainwashed people who are confused in our culture of fear. Their term of choice: 'illegals.'
That shorthand term for 'illegal immigrants' - which they use as a noun, making linguists cringe - is being used repeatedly by reactionary commentators and politicians in every venue available. They rail about 'illegals' on radio talk shows. Hate groups like the Aryan Nation spew vitriol about the 'illegal invasion' in e-mail blasts. Bill O'Reilly and Lou Dobbs drone on about 'illegals' every night. These distinct groups use the same language. The same words. The same phrases. It's an orchestrated effort designed to instill fear in Americans. And it's working.
Throw in other scary words, such as 'invasion' and 'alien,' and it's bound to make people feel scared. That's how propaganda works. Repeat the words continually until it reshapes the way people think."
