{"id":13383,"date":"2016-11-07T16:56:16","date_gmt":"2016-11-07T21:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/?p=13383"},"modified":"2018-12-28T13:08:44","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T18:08:44","slug":"you-cant-say-illegal-alien","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2016\/11\/07\/you-cant-say-illegal-alien\/","title":{"rendered":"You Can\u2019t Say Illegal Alien!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"rutgers-rotator-720x480\"The Washington Times recently reported that the Rutgers University student paper\u00a0 fired<\/a> one of its reporters for attempting to use the i-word. Student journalist Aviv Khavich committed the unpardonable sin of referring to aliens illegally present in the United States as \u201cillegal aliens.\u201d\u00a0 Apparently, the term has become a highly politicized and inflammatory. Khavich\u2019s editors eventually replaced all instances of the offending verbiage with \u201cundocumented immigrant,\u201d prior to publishing his last column<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the problem with the substitution? It is a deliberate attempt by open-borders advocates to nullify the impact of immigration laws they don\u2019t like by controlling speech.<\/p>\n

Improper Entry by an Alien<\/i> is a crime<\/a> punishable by up to six months in federal prison. Black\u2019s law dictionary, the standard reference for legal terms, defines \u201calien\u201d as \u201ca foreign-born person who has not qualified as a citizen of the country.\u201d Therefore, \u201cillegal alien\u201d is a factually and legally accurate description of a foreign national who has violated the law in order to enter the United States.<\/p>\n

By contrast, the term \u201cundocumented immigrant\u201d is wildly inaccurate. \u201cImmigrant\u201d is a legal term of art that refers to aliens who have been granted authorization to reside permanently in the United States. It\u2019s impossible to be an \u201cundocumented immigrant\u201d because it\u2019s the documents<\/i> that make you an immigrant.<\/p>\n

This construction shifts attention away from the crime committed by border jumpers and visa overstayers. It suggests that, but for their failure to deal with some pesky bureaucratic paperwork, they would be just as legal as a native born American. And it implies that even if they have committed a crime, it is a minor infraction roughly akin to a speeding violation.<\/p>\n

George Orwell, in his book 1984<\/i><\/a>,<\/i> referred to this type of ambiguous, euphemistic use of words as \u201cnewspeak.\u201d He also noted<\/a> that language \u201cbecomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish.\u201d Our government\u2019s thoughts about immigration have been utterly foolhardy for nearly half a century. The replacement of \u201cillegal alien\u201d with \u201cundocumented immigrant\u201d is a perfect example of the ugly and inaccurate language that results from those thoughts. Kudos to Mr. Khavich for protesting the use of newspeak and standing up for the truth.