Colorado lawmaker wants to remove term “illegal alien” from state law
The terms used to describe immigrants who are living in the United States without documentation1 have been heavily debated for years, and a Colorado lawmaker wants the state to use a phrase that carries more dignity and respect for the people it describes.
Colorado House Rep. Susan Lontine, D-Denver, plans to introduce a bill in 2020 that would remove the phrase “illegal alien” from the one place it’s used in state statutes — a 2006 law that references public contracts and prohibits immigrants [illegal aliens] without legal residency from being hired for those jobs.
“I think words matter and we shouldn’t be calling people illegal aliens,” Lontine said. “People aren’t illegal.” ...
President Donald Trump has taken a hard line against allowing people to remain in the country without documentation, and last year his Justice Department instructed U.S. attorneys to use the term “illegal alien.” ...
CAIRCO Notes
1. America invites a million immigrants each year to live in our country. They are issued legal documentation, such as green cards and visas.
Illegal aliens are those who have snuck into our country and who have evaded capture at our border. Illegal aliens possess plenty of documentation, but it is forged or stolen documentation. Illegal aliens are not immigrants and they are not "undocumented".
Associated Press adopts Orwellian doublespeak - drops 'illegal immigrant', by Fred Elbel, April 3, 2013.