What do you think of the term "illegal alien" ?

[undeterred]

I realize its a technical description, but I can't help but think that it carries a morally negative connotation of someone less than human.

[babylonsister]

1. I abhor it. Aliens are not of this earth, supposedly. nt

[Faygo Kid]

2. Your point is well taken.

And I don't want this guy pissed off.

[Chipper Chat]

13. Klaatu! Barada!

Give me citizenship NOW.
I promise to speak perfect English. No Spanish!
But you'll never catch me voting Republican!

[madeline_con]

3. It sounds like someone from another country....

who's here illegally.

[uppityperson]

4. illegitimate bastard

perjorative, yes.

[MrSlayer]

5. I'm indifferent to it.

It's not positive or negative, it just is what it is.

[undeterred]

6. It doesn't make me think of an "Englismun in New York"

but of a foreigner who has done something illegal. Except that the thing they've done that is illegal does not involve a criminal act, but simply a presence that does not meet certain standards. I think that mixing in the word "felony" into the discussion has made it a perjorative rather than a neutral term.

[Spider Jerusalem]

11. Actually, it DOES involve a criminal act.

There's a de facto violation of immigration law involved, by entering a country in a manner contrary to that stipulated in the laws governing border crossings and visa requirements; that's the reason it's an offence for which one can be deported (not just in the US but in any country in the world). Maybe not a crime against persons or property, but still a criminal act as defined under law, in the absence of a general amnesty.

[thecrow]

7. Wouldn't "non-citizen" be better? nt

[tritsofme]

15. There are legal aliens

that are non-citizens as well.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

21. No, they're not.

Legal aliens are those who came here legally and are not yet naturalized.

[Spider Jerusalem]

26. Or who have an extended residency visa (for school/work/etc)

and no intention of becoming naturalised. So, yes, there are legal aliens who are non-citizens (and who have no intention of becoming citizens).

[KamaAina]

8. It makes me think of an E.T. with a stocking over his head

knocking over a vending machine so he can get enough quarters to "phone home". :-)

[titoresque]

9. Hate it !

They're economic refugees!

[NorthernSpy]

10. matter-of-fact and non-euphemistic

The open-borders apologists object to the term because it's accurate.

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[BlueJazz]

17. I agree. Come to the US the way we would become citizens of other..

..countries and you won't be called a name that "Upsets You".

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

12. I hate hearing people like Thom Hartmann and Ed Scultz say "illegals"

Great that these rw term of dehumanization are catching on. Schultz doesn't surprise me, as he's right-leaning in a lot of ways, but I'm shocked by Hartmann, who I otherwise have infinite respect for

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

14. About the same way I used to think of "Colored Only" signs.

[WindRavenX]

18. fucking hate it

No human being is illegal.

[The Straight Story]

19. Mork from Ork (nt)

[bemildred]

20. Sort of like "honest politician". nt

[svpadgham]

22. I disagree.

It only carries that negative connotation if you allow it to. I liken it to being called "liberal." Rethugs want it to sound demeaning and horrible, but it's not. In fact being liberal always seemed a good way to be. However, "unregistered immigrant" may be a bit more appropriate.

[TahitiNut]

27. Good comparison.

Agreed. :thumbsup:

[Freedom_Aflaim]

23. I prefer criminal immigrant

[Igel]

24. I don't see the connotation.

I learned one in school, and the other from sci-fi novels.

The one's been established usage much longer than the other. But unless you're used to 'alien' in the sense of 'person from another place', and you're just familiar with the much more recent (and fictitious) 'outer space' variety it's probably strange sounding. It's a question of breadth of reading and knowledge, as with many other usages that sound wrong or strange.

[TahitiNut]

25. I think it's unambiguous, specific, and appropriate.

The denotation is clear and employed in both legal and casual communication. The connotation is whatever you make of it. I have never equated "illegal alien" or "alien" to anything subhuman or demeaning. My maternal grandparents (and my grandaunt and granduncle) were aliens (immigrants) who became naturalized when I was a teenager, and the term "alien" was (and is) normal spoken English in my family. (FWIW, the same language is used in Canada.)

IMHO, making an issue of this, whree there is none, trivializes and demeans the injustices that abound with regards to the exploitation of human suffering on both sides of our borders. IMHO, it's lazy and brainless navel-gazing devoid of actual research, education, and fact-finding regarding the substantive issues themselves.

That's only my opinion, however. YMMV. :shrug:

[Disturbed]

28. How about Undocumented Immigrant?

Politicaly polite?

Most countries have a form of Immigration Policy. Should the USA drop the policy that is now on the books?

I still feel that a prison term of six months for anyone hiring a worker that is not a US Citizen could discourage this type of hiring and eventually slow down the crossing of the US borders by people seeking work.

Legal Immigration could be made easier than it now is, couldn't it?

The McCain/Kennedy Bill seems reasonable.

[TahitiNut]

31. I think there are three priorities

(1) Drop the hammer hard on the traffickers in human labor who exploit the appallingly inequitable economic systems of both Mexico and the US. This means heavy fines and imprisonment particularly for those (up to) 3,000 businesses (and executives/owners) identified as the greatest scofflaws.
(2) Bring the heaviest of pressure (diplomatic, economic, and legal) to bear on Mexico to make massive and radical corrections to an economic system that impoverishes up to half of its population for the greater enrichment of its top 1% neocolonialists.
(3) Reverse the inequitable economic policy changes of the last 25 years in the US which merely serve to make us another banana republic.

It's ALL about increasing the 'supply' of cheap human labor by appallingly inequitable economic policies that favor the enrichment of the already wealthy at the cost of the bottom 80% ... including the destruction of the public education systems and denial of basic human needs.

It cannot be 'solved' by legalizing exploitation and doing more of the same.

[AlienPundit]

29. Perhaps a code word

It is a double pejorative term meant to dehumanize, exclude and humiliate:

illegal: prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules
alien: stranger, anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found

However some of us don't really care. The pilgrims first arrived here as illegal aliens, my friends.

[Gormy Cuss]

30. I think it's proper, descriptive English.

That doesn't mean that I view the people as subhuman or unworthy of humanitarian support or eventual American citizenship.

[Rainscents]

32. I really think, they should be called Refuges, not illegals.

They left their land because they are hungry and no jobs. Their country refuse to help the poor.