Thread: Immigration Terminology 101

Immigration Terminology 101

With the vitriolic immigration debate roiling in all parts of our country, it is important to understand terminology. Be prepared to dispel the half-truths and no truths of the way those who are illegally in our country are described by their advocates. Knowledge is power:

ILLEGAL:
1.) Unlawful; illegitimate; illicit; unlicensed.
2.) Illegal, unlawful, illegitimate, illicit, criminal can all describe actions not in accord with law.
3.) Illegal refers most specifically to violations of statutes.
4.) Prohibited by law

ALIEN:
1.) a person who is not a citizen of the country.
2.) in the United States any person born in another country to parents who are not American and who has not become a naturalized citizen. There are resident aliens officially permitted to live in the country and illegal aliens who have sneaked into the country or stayed beyond the time allowed on a visa.

INVADE:
1. to enter like an enemy: Locusts invaded the fields
2. to enter as if to take possession: To invade a neighbor's home
3. to enter and affect injuriously or destructively, as disease: Viruses that invade the bloodstream.
4. to intrude upon: To invade the privacy of a family.
5. to encroach or infringe upon: to invade the rights of citizens.
6. to permeate: The smell of baking invades the house.
7. to penetrate; spread into or over: The population boom has caused city dwellers to invade the suburbs

Those illegally in a country are not "immigrants". There is no such thing as an "illegal immigrant". An immigrant is involved with an established and orderly procedure of immigration (entering a country to which one is not native in order to settle there by legal process).

They are not illegal immigrants, not undocumented immigrants (Kennedy, et. al’s favorite), not undocumented workers, not undocumented Americans (Harry Reid’s favorite), not workers without papers, not people who are working (Enrique Morone’s favorite), not migrant workers, and not day laborers.

The government has defined them as "illegal aliens" and explicitly uses that term in all its laws and statutes. So keep it simple…a spade is a spade…they are illegal aliens. Or, if you’d prefer, another term that would be just as correct to use is "invaders". I would consider the two interchangeable.

One other definition is exceedingly useful since you’ll hear with every piece of amnesty legislation, the open border lobbyists and invader advocates will declare that it isn’t amnesty in the hope that you will think so. Here’s the definition of amnesty so you can decide for yourself:

AMNESTY is legislation to forgive the breaking of immigration laws and to make it possible for illegal aliens to live permanently in the United States. Amnesty represents a system of federal rewards and assistance for illegal aliens, and they entice an even greater number of foreign nationals to invade a country.
AMNESTY:
1. A general pardon for offenses against a government
2. An act of forgiveness for past offenses, esp. to a class of persons as whole
3. Forgetting or overlooking any past offense

There you have it, folks. Knowledge is power…use it wisely.

-article written by zeezil...no link

I like it alot zeezil. Makes things pretty clear.

Psalm 91

Originally Posted by GeorgiaPeach

I like it alot zeezil. Makes things pretty clear.

Psalm 91

Thanks GA Peach. Your reply just reminded me to check in on the Dreamies ove at USA Today. Either we scared them away or knocked them out for the evening. Your post was the last made...2 hours 20 minutes ago.

(There is no such thing as an "illegal immigrant".)
Absolutely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I like it too. Call it like it is.
This spells it out for everyone.

Originally Posted by zeezil

Immigration Terminology 101

With the vitriolic immigration debate roiling in all parts of our country, it is important to understand terminology. Be prepared to dispel the half-truths and no truths of the way those who are illegally in our country are described by their advocates. Knowledge is power:

ILLEGAL:
1.) Unlawful; illegitimate; illicit; unlicensed.
2.) Illegal, unlawful, illegitimate, illicit, criminal can all describe actions not in accord with law.
3.) Illegal refers most specifically to violations of statutes.
4.) Prohibited by law

ALIEN:
1.) a person who is not a citizen of the country.
2.) in the United States any person born in another country to parents who are not American and who has not become a naturalized citizen. There are resident aliens officially permitted to live in the country and illegal aliens who have sneaked into the country or stayed beyond the time allowed on a visa.

INVADE:
1. to enter like an enemy: Locusts invaded the fields
2. to enter as if to take possession: To invade a neighbor's home
3. to enter and affect injuriously or destructively, as disease: Viruses that invade the bloodstream.
4. to intrude upon: To invade the privacy of a family.
5. to encroach or infringe upon: to invade the rights of citizens.
6. to permeate: The smell of baking invades the house.
7. to penetrate; spread into or over: The population boom has caused city dwellers to invade the suburbs

Those illegally in a country are not "immigrants". There is no such thing as an "illegal immigrant". An immigrant is involved with an established and orderly procedure of immigration (entering a country to which one is not native in order to settle there by legal process).

They are not illegal immigrants, not undocumented immigrants (Kennedy, et. al’s favorite), not undocumented workers, not undocumented Americans (Harry Reid’s favorite), not workers without papers, not people who are working (Enrique Morone’s favorite), not migrant workers, and not day laborers.

The government has defined them as "illegal aliens" and explicitly uses that term in all its laws and statutes. So keep it simple…a spade is a spade…they are illegal aliens. Or, if you’d prefer, another term that would be just as correct to use is "invaders". I would consider the two interchangeable.

One other definition is exceedingly useful since you’ll hear with every piece of amnesty legislation, the open border lobbyists and invader advocates will declare that it isn’t amnesty in the hope that you will think so. Here’s the definition of amnesty so you can decide for yourself:

AMNESTY is legislation to forgive the breaking of immigration laws and to make it possible for illegal aliens to live permanently in the United States. Amnesty represents a system of federal rewards and assistance for illegal aliens, and they entice an even greater number of foreign nationals to invade a country.
AMNESTY:
1. A general pardon for offenses against a government
2. An act of forgiveness for past offenses, esp. to a class of persons as whole
3. Forgetting or overlooking any past offense

There you have it, folks. Knowledge is power…use it wisely.

-article written by zeezil...no link

Ditto ZeeZil! Good Golly, finally someone has it right!


ACCURATE terminology is [b]ILLEGAL: “ALIEN", “MIGRANTâ€

I agree 100%.

Zeezil’s thread eloquently highlights the pro-amnesty tactics of diminishing criminal behavior. This deceptive strategy has become a staple of the illegal alien movement, and we can only expect more.

They can refer to an illegal alien as an “immigrant,â€

Originally Posted by zeezil

Those illegally in a country are not "immigrants". There is no such thing as an "illegal immigrant".

The government defines an "immigrant" as "a legal permanent resident alien".

This means when anyone says "illegal immigrant", they are saying "illegal legal permanent resident alien". How can someone be legal and illegal at the same time? The term "illegal immigrant" is nonsence.

Zeezil, GREAT post!

FedupDeb wrote-
I think we can all agree that those who arbitrarily kill other human beings are by legal definition, murderers. If we begin to refer to murderers as “heaven dispatchers,â€

Excellent post Zeezil

Z - well done!

I'd add a small footnote regarding the terminology ('illegal alien' vs. 'illegal immigrant') - geared at those that tout CIR...

Even the proponents of CIR (US Senators Durbin, Kennedy, etc. US Reps Gutierrez, Flake, etc)... specifically used the term 'illegal alien' NOT 'illegal immigrant' in their most recent legislative offerings (attempts at passing amnesty). So, even the people that are arguing to 'overlook' the existing law, understand darn well the contents of the same laws and the conventional terminology included throughout.

Post-Post Update:

I'm really glad Z posted this - as it brings attention to the very important aspect of controlling language and framing the debate. I think Lou Dobbs is essentially correct when he says that political correctness is about controlling the exchange of ideas and more importantly, limiting the acceptable bounds with which language can be used.

A George Orwell quote comes to mind here:

"The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns, as it were, instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink."