US States Drop Term 'Alien' for Undocumented Immigrants
2021-12-02
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1Two American states have banned state agencies from using the word "alien" to describe undocumented immigrants.
2The change was enacted into law in California and Colorado and several other states are considering similar legislation.
3Immigrants and immigrant-rights groups say the use of "alien" - especially when combined with "illegal" -
4is dehumanizing and can have a harmful effect on immigration policy.
5In California, Democratic lawmaker Luz Rivas wrote the bill that replaces use of "alien" in state law descriptions with terms such as "noncitizen" or "immigrant."
6Rivas told The Associated Press that she remembered as a child seeing the word alien on her mother's residency identification.
7To the government, it meant her mother was not yet a citizen of the United States.
8But to her, it meant the family did not belong, even though they were going through the naturalization process.
9"I want other children of immigrants, like me, to not feel the same way I did, that my family did, when we saw the word 'alien'," Rivas said.
10The word became the subject of debate in several states earlier this year as the number of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border grew sharply.
11Lawmakers in at least seven states have considered removing use of "alien" and "illegal" in state laws,
12the National Conference of State Legislatures reports.
13Colorado is the other state to make the change official.
14State Senator Julie Gonzales co-wrote the Colorado law.
15She told a legislative committee words such as "illegal" were "dehumanizing and derogatory."
16The law removed the term "illegal alien" from a state law used to describe people living in the U.S. illegally.
17"That language has been offensive for many people," Gonzales said.
18"And some of the rationale behind that is really rooted in this idea that a person can certainly commit an illegal act,
19but no human being themselves is illegal."
20The use of "alien" to describe non-U.S. citizens has a long history.
21It dates back to the nation's first naturalization law, passed by the first U.S. President, George Washington.
22Fearing a war with France, Congress also passed the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798, which sought to reduce political subversion.
23Moves to stop the word alien have been criticized by some legislators.
24Sage Naumann is a spokesperson for Colorado's Senate Republicans.
25He told the AP he does not think most Coloradans or Americans care about "what semi-controversial words are buried" in state laws.
26He said the Democratic-controlled legislature should spend its time on matters of deeper importance to citizens,
27such as measures to fight inflation, reduce crime and improve education.
28The federal government has also taken action on the issue.
29In April, U.S. Customs and Border Protection ordered workers to avoid using the word "alien" in agency documents and public communication.
30Employees were instructed to use "noncitizen" or "migrant" instead.
31The term "illegal alien" was also removed and replaced with descriptions such as "undocumented noncitizen."
32The acting head of the agency, Troy Miller, said the change was aimed at protecting "the dignity of every individual with whom we interact."
33But the head of the U.S. Border Patrol, Rodney Scott, objected to the agency order.
34He argued that the change went against current language in criminal law.
35"To change the law is fine, but until then you're really politicizing the mission," Scott said.
36I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Two American states have banned state agencies from using the word "alien" to describe undocumented immigrants. 2The change was enacted into law in California and Colorado and several other states are considering similar legislation. 3Immigrants and immigrant-rights groups say the use of "alien" - especially when combined with "illegal" - is dehumanizing and can have a harmful effect on immigration policy. 4In California, Democratic lawmaker Luz Rivas wrote the bill that replaces use of "alien" in state law descriptions with terms such as "noncitizen" or "immigrant." 5Rivas told The Associated Press that she remembered as a child seeing the word alien on her mother's residency identification. To the government, it meant her mother was not yet a citizen of the United States. But to her, it meant the family did not belong, even though they were going through the naturalization process. 6"I want other children of immigrants, like me, to not feel the same way I did, that my family did, when we saw the word 'alien'," Rivas said. 7The word became the subject of debate in several states earlier this year as the number of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border grew sharply. Lawmakers in at least seven states have considered removing use of "alien" and "illegal" in state laws, the National Conference of State Legislatures reports. 8Colorado is the other state to make the change official. State Senator Julie Gonzales co-wrote the Colorado law. She told a legislative committee words such as "illegal" were "dehumanizing and derogatory." The law removed the term "illegal alien" from a state law used to describe people living in the U.S. illegally. 9"That language has been offensive for many people," Gonzales said. "And some of the rationale behind that is really rooted in this idea that a person can certainly commit an illegal act, but no human being themselves is illegal." 10The use of "alien" to describe non-U.S. citizens has a long history. It dates back to the nation's first naturalization law, passed by the first U.S. President, George Washington. Fearing a war with France, Congress also passed the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798, which sought to reduce political subversion. 11Moves to stop the word alien have been criticized by some legislators. Sage Naumann is a spokesperson for Colorado's Senate Republicans. He told the AP he does not think most Coloradans or Americans care about "what semi-controversial words are buried" in state laws. 12He said the Democratic-controlled legislature should spend its time on matters of deeper importance to citizens, such as measures to fight inflation, reduce crime and improve education. 13The federal government has also taken action on the issue. In April, U.S. Customs and Border Protection ordered workers to avoid using the word "alien" in agency documents and public communication. Employees were instructed to use "noncitizen" or "migrant" instead. The term "illegal alien" was also removed and replaced with descriptions such as "undocumented noncitizen." 14The acting head of the agency, Troy Miller, said the change was aimed at protecting "the dignity of every individual with whom we interact." 15But the head of the U.S. Border Patrol, Rodney Scott, objected to the agency order. He argued that the change went against current language in criminal law. "To change the law is fine, but until then you're really politicizing the mission," Scott said. 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17The Associated Press reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor. 18We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 19____________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21alien - n. someone who does not legally belong to the country where they live or work 22residency - n. the state of living in a place 23naturalization - n. the act of making someone a legal citizen of a country that they were not born in 24derogatory - adj. showing strong disapproval and not showing respect 25rationale - n. the reasons or intentions that cause a particular set of beliefs or actions 26controversial - adj. causing disagreement or discussion 27dignity - n. calm, serious and controlled behavior that makes people respect you 28mission - n. any work that someone believes it is their duty to do