Thread: Illegal immigration is a hot-button issue for readers

And there are comments being left after the comments.
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Schneider: Illegal immigration is a hot-button issue for readers
John Schneider
Lansing State Journal


Wow! If you don't think immigration is a hot-button issue way up here in the Rust Belt, check out the reader comment posted on the State Journal Web site in response to Friday's column - in which I printed e-mails from people arguing that my use of the term "illegal aliens" in recent columns was racist, xenophobic, offensive and hurtful.

A small sample of the blow-back:

• From Curt Schmaltz of Okemos: "This is my first ever letter to you, but I could not read your Dec. 14 column and remain silent.

"I am personally offended by those that would seek to diminish the importance of citizenship by attempting to gloss over the incontrovertible fact that these people have broken our laws.

"As the first-generation son of a legal immigrant, I think that I can speak for many other sons and daughters of legal immigrants when I say that we simply cannot understand why someone would be content to remain in this country illegally unless they have a higher commitment to the country of their birth, or they disdain the country of their illegal residence.

"To call people 'racist' who oppose illegal immigration is insulting and a not-so-veiled attempt to end all discussion."

• From Ron Rademacher of Bellevue: "While I don't often agree with your paper, I agree with you on this. My grandparents were immigrants - legal ones, who helped build Michigan.

"We need new people coming in with energy and ideas, but we also need laws."

• From Catherine Kaikowska of the Michigan State University College of Law: "I do believe that 'illegal alien' is a legal term or designation, is it not?

"It's my sense, however, that this legal term has now become pejorative in the fallout from the emotional discussions surrounding immigration, the proposed Great Wall Of Mexico, etc. This is how our language changes, like it or not."

• From Rod Confer of Corunna: "They're illegal, and, yes, they are alien to this country; that makes them illegal aliens."

• From Kevin Driedger of Lansing: "The label 'illegal alien' is used to further alienate 'us' from 'them.' It is much easier to feel resentment and anger at 'illegal aliens' than 'undocumented residents.' "

• From Randy Cook of Fowlerville: "To use politically correct terms to somehow soften this illegal act is wrong. Besides the obvious security threat to our citizens, the flow of illegals is bankrupting our nation."

• From Dennis Stepanovich of Lansing: "I was especially amused by Gabriela Alcazar's diatribe that 'we are allowed to migrate to wherever the circumstance takes us.'

"I wonder how she would respond if anyone, legal or not, migrated permanently onto her property and into her house."

• From Jason Hagle of Lansing: "The fact that so many illegal aliens are already here, feeling comfortable and empowered enough to write letters to editors, march in parades, and call and complain to 'their' congressmen is just further proof that things are out of control."

• From Susan Peters, associate professor in MSU's College of Education: "If I submitted a scholarly work for publication using the term 'illegal alien,' I am doubtful that it would be accepted.

"In academia, 'illegal alien' is considered a pejorative term. It may be accepted in the U.S. media and common vernacular, but is that a standard we really want to uphold, all 'political correctness' aside?"

• From Robert Parish of DeWitt: "The bottom line: By concentrating on something as trivial as to what to call these people is looking straight past the actual problem."

www.lsj.com

"We need new people coming in with energy and ideas, but we also need laws."

These people with a less then 6th grade education don't have new energy and new ideas except how to upset the balance in the US and to overtake some of our states. Although we are lucky they don't, otherwise, with the lack of commitment from our federal government, they might succeed.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) illegal alien
–noun 1. a foreigner who has entered or resides in a country unlawfully or without the country's authorization.
2. a foreigner who enters the U.S. without an entry or immigrant visa, esp. a person who crosses the border by avoiding inspection or who overstays the period of time allowed as a visitor, tourist, or businessperson.

unauthorized immigrant/migrant/alien/worker/resident

paperless immigrant/migrant/alien/worker/resident

immigrant "without immigration status"

out of status (those whose lawful status has expired, those who have overstayed their visas, etc.)

illegrant "illegal immigrant" (slang term)
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Alien (law)
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

In U.S. law, an alien is a person who owes political allegiance to another country or government and not a native or naturalized citizen of the land where they are found. Types of "alien" persons are:

An alien who is legally permitted to remain in a country which is foreign to him or her. On specified terms, this kind of alien may be called a legal alien of that country.

An alien who has temporary or permanent residence in a country (which is foreign to him/her) may be called a resident alien of that country.
A visitor with the legal right to visit a country (which is foreign to him/her) may be called a nonresident alien of that country.
The term illegal alien commonly refers to a foreign national who resides in another country unlawfully, either by entering that country at a place other than a designated port-of-entry or as result of the expiration of a non-immigrant visa. The important distinction is that this person intends to remain in the country indefinitely. A tourist who has the present intent to leave would be included as a legal alien described above.

In Latvian travel documents, the term alien is used for so-called non-citizens (nepilsoņi): former citizens of USSR who have no citizenship, but some legal ties with Latvia.


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Given the dictionary terms, I'll continue to stick to illegal alien because Immigrants are legal.

I've questioned a few newspaper reports that mistakenly call illegal; aliens immigrants. I rec'ed one reply. He explained he used the Assc. Press (AP) dictionary. It defines illegals differently.

If you noticed most AP articles are slanted in favor of illegals.

I still email the reportes of the local paper. I believe a couple of them are getting better. They dstill don't use the term illegal alien, but the will point out the party "was in the country illegall" or he was a Mexican national,

An Assc. Press (AP) dictionary?

There's a book I'd love to see.