Is "Illegal Immigrant" "Inflammatory, Imprecise, And ? Inaccurate ...

Is "Illegal Immigrant" "Inflammatory, Imprecise, And ... Inaccurate"?
That's what Jose Antonia Vargas writes in TIME:

Add that to the list of questions I am repeatedly asked since publicly disclosing my undocumented immigrant status in the summer of 2011. Calling undocumented people "illegal immigrants" -- or worse, "illegal aliens," as Mitt Romney did in front of a largely Latino audience last week -- has become such standard practice for politicians and the media, from Bill O'Reilly to the New York Times, that people of all political persuasions do not think twice about doing it, too.

But describing an immigrant as "illegal" is legally inaccurate. Being in the country without proper documents is a civil offense, not a criminal one. (Underscoring this reality, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority opinion on SB 1070, Arizona's controversial immigration law: "As a general rule, it is not a crime for a movable alien to remain in the United States.") In a country that believes in due process of the law, calling an immigrant "illegal" is akin to calling a defendant awaiting trial a "criminal." The term "illegal" is also imprecise. For many undocumented people -- there are 11 million in the U.S. and most have immediate family members who are American citizens, either by birth or naturalization -- their immigration status is fluid and, depending on individual circumstances, can be adjusted.

When journalists, who are supposed to seek neutrality and fairness, use the term, they are politicizing an already political issue. (How can using "illegal immigrant" be considered neutral, for example, when Republican strategist Frank Luntz encouraged using term in a 2005 memo to tie undocumented people with criminality?) And the term dehumanizes and marginalizes the people it seeks to describe. Think of it this way: In what other contexts do we call someone illegal? If someone is driving a car at 14, we say "underage driver," not "illegal" driver." If someone is driving under influence, we call them a "drunk driver," not an "illegal driver." Put another way, how would you feel if you -- or your family members or friends -- were referred to as "illegal"?

Well, since those friends of mine who emigrated here from other countries went through hell to do it legally, having to go through long and awful processes in a couple cases, that would really suck.

I looked up "illegal" in the Apple dictionary (on my computer):

illegal |i(l)?l?g?l| adjective

contrary to or forbidden by law, esp. criminal law: illegal drugs.

noun
an illegal immigrant.

And yes, it really does give that example.

It is illegal to cross our borders and enter this country without permission. Thus, it seems correct to call someone who does so an "illegal immigrant."

This differentiates them from people who follow the law -- i.e., legal immigrants.

We don't call people illegal hijackers, illegal home-invaders or illegal muggers because there are no legal hijackers, home-invaders or muggers.

Also, a commenter at TIME, Talendria, points out that the only violation of our laws usually isn't just at the border crossing:

When people use the term "illegal," they're typically not referring to a visitor who overstayed his visa accidentally or on purpose. They're referring to people who willfully engaged in illicit activity to sneak into the United States, obtain a job, and benefit from social services because they knew they weren't eligible under the existing immigration laws.

While I'm not an expert in criminal law, I'm guessing all of the following activities are illegal to some extent:
--forging documents
--buying forged documents
--using forged documents to obtain a job
--driving without a valid license
--driving without insurance

There are additional activities which may not be strictly illegal but are still harmful:
--enrolling non-citizens in public schools
--taking advantage of social services meant for citizens (food, housing, health care)
--taxing the legal system (police call-outs, court appearances, prison)

I think people cling to the term "illegal" even though they know it sounds uncharitable because they're offended by the blatant disregard for our laws and the apparent lack of concern for the social and economic consequences of breaking those laws.

I personally would love to find a way to resolve this problem to everyone's satisfaction, but you've drawn your line in the sand so far to the left that it's difficult to find any common ground.

P.S. It's a felony in Mexico to be an illegal immigrant. (I don't speak Spanish, but I'm guessing they don't use a frilly, P.C. term for it, either.)

27 views

Source: http://amyalkon.mensnewsdaily.com/2012/09/24/is-illegal-immigrant-inflammatory-imprecise-and-inaccurate/

cause of whitney houston death the watchmen whitney houston dies beverly hills hotel beverly hills hotel whitney houston national anthem dolly parton i will always love you