Thread: "Illegal alien" is a proper term, Tancredo says

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'Illegal alien' is a proper term, Tancredo says
A Cedar Rapids woman objects to the Republican's choice of words.

By LISA ROSSI
REGISTER STAFF WRITER


May 12, 2007
4 Comments



Cedar Rapids, Ia. - Presidential candidate Tom Tancredo defended his use of the term "illegal alien" Friday after a visitor at a forum he hosted took him to task for repeated use of the term.

"I believe that accurately described a person here illegally," U.S. Rep. Tancredo, R-Colo., said after the forum. "When you say undocumented - I could lose my wallet and be undocumented."

Mary Arenas, 44, of Cedar Rapids said she heard Tancredo use the term at the Iowa Preventing Abuse Conference, where Tancredo spoke earlier on Friday, and cornered him after the conference.

"He used the words 'illegal alien,' " said Arenas, who described herself as half-Mexican and half-Swedish, and said she opposes illegal immigration. "I told him, 'I don't care for that word.' I said, 'People are people.' Aliens, to me, are from outer space."

Arenas decided to attend Tancredo's forum later Friday at the Crowne Plaza Five Seasons Hotel to further challenge him on the subject.

At that forum, with about 50 people in attendance, Tancredo also spoke out about his concerns about America becoming a "bilingual society."

"I know this is controversial, but this is not good," he said. "Bilingual countries don't work well."

He said he has advocated rule changes in Congress to abolish the black and Hispanic caucuses, pushing to erase divisions based on race. If elected president, Tancredo said, he would get rid of rules requiring government documents to be printed in several languages.

"I'm hoping for a country that isn't distinguished on these lines," he said. "The one thing that holds us together is language. It's called English. It's the idea we are Americans first. Then we can split on all other lines: Republican, Democrat, but something has got to keep us together."

Randy Millsap, 49, of Cedar Rapids attended the forum, and he defended Tancredo's way of describing people in the country illegally.

"He uses the common language that's used by everybody," he said. "It's hard to come up with a term that's not offensive."

At the forum, Tancredo also disagreed with President Bush's decision to send thousands of additional troops into Iraq earlier this year.

"We should disengage," he said "We have to take American troops out of the target, the military target and political target. There is absolutely a role to play for the United States - to make sure al-Qaida does not create a source for terrorist activity. We have to make sure that we do control the situation, but I do believe we need to disengage."

Reporter Lisa Rossi can be reached at (515) 232-2383 or lrossi@dmreg.com

I still like criminal alien better.

Originally Posted by Charlesoakisland

I still like criminal alien better.

Actually, Rep. Tancredo does use that term.

I believe he used it on the Stephanopoulos show this past Sunday.

I'll see if I can put a link to a YouTube video of that interview.

[quote="tancredofan"]http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070512/NEWS09/705120338/-1/SPORTS12


'Illegal alien' is a proper term, Tancredo says

(snip)





God, I love this guy!

(And not just because he's from Colorado either)

Rice

ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIEN ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIEN ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIEN ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIEN ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIEN ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIEN ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIEN and they are the true racists

A few weeks ago, I heard on a local talk show that the term "illegal alien" has been banned from Denver (Colorado) City Council meetings, as it is "offensive" to some.

Duh

Originally Posted by Rockfish

ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIEN ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIEN ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIEN ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIEN ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIEN ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIEN ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIEN

Hey, Duh. Welcome.

You're probably right about Denver. Nothing city government does there would surprise me.

As for "illegal alien", if the term's good enough for ICE, it's good enough for me. After all, Chertoff has spent how many years trying to avoid them completely & he calls them illegal aliens.

If you wanta get their panties in a real wad, just call them "illegals" and watch their blood pressure rise.

Of course, ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIEN is a favorite around here, too.

My dictionary says:

illegal - contrary to law

alien - (3rd definition) living in a country not one's own without right of citizenship.

Enought said!

If it weren't for people like Tom Tancredo, I don't think I would sleep at night. Thank goodness for him.