Minority journalists hit immigrant descriptors [no "alien," "illegal alien," or "illegal immigrant"]

Washington Times ^ | April 6, 2006 | Jennifer Harper

[P-40]

Operation Wetback: http://www.vdare.com/letters/tl_072701.htm

[no dems]

The preferred terms are "undocumented immigrant,"


Oh no, my friend, it is WELL DOCUMENTED. They're lawbreakers.

[no dems]

One problem we have is limiting this problem to Mexico and Mexicans. While they are surely the bulk of it, there are other illegals who have sneaked in here from other countries as well. I, for a fact, personally know Filipinos (yes, that is the correct spelling)who are here illegally, knocking down big bucks that Americans could be making.

[TomGuy]

The terms "alien," "illegal alien" and "illegal immigrant" should be avoided

The PC crowd always wants to change the definition or place certain words/phrases off limits.

The preferred terms are "undocumented immigrant," "undocumented worker" or "economic refugee," which the organizations consider more accurate and less offensive.

A more preferred and accurate term would be foreign or alien invaders.

Proponents cannot defend the facts -- that illegals are here illegally. So, they want to change the definition to something they can more easily defend. That is nothing but a ploy; no different than the claim that the bill 'really isn't amnesty'.

This is nothing more than trying to pass off 'the big lie'. Tell a big enough lie, repeat it enough times, and the pubic will buy it.

The point that they try to muddle is this: If one came into this (or any) nation without coming in through the established immigration procedure, they are in the country illegally -- they are illegals. It makes no difference whether they reside in that country a month or 20 years; if they circumvented the established immigration procedures, they are illegals, invaders.

[SR 50]

Call them what the US immigration laws call them.

[truthpls]

How about 'trespassers'?

[ridesthemiles]

they can K M A.......

[Borax Queen]

...how about calling them criminals?

That is not very nice of you. You are an American walking on streets of gold and living in a mansion, and it is your duty to support the rest of the world. It's the only moral thing to do. /die

[nicmarlo]

Streets of gold....own a house? Those are pipe dreams of yesteryear....good jobs, along with decent pay, are being outsourced to illegals locally or to international workers.

[Borax Queen]

Outsourced the good jobs; insourced the rest!

[nicmarlo]

yep

[MiHeat]

Whatever happened to "wetback"? I was born and raised in CA and that was THE term!!

Of course that is offensive. Just thought I would throw it out.

[OffMyMeds]

I couldn't stop myself. I found the website for the NAHJ and let them know my feelings had been hurt by their press release:

Dear Marxist Activists Masquerading as Reporters:

Your aggrieved sensibilities at the use of the words "alien", "illegal alien" and "illegal immigrant" do have some basis in fact. The correct words to use when describing border gatecrashers should be either "criminal" or "felon". Before issuing any more ludicrous position statements, please read the section of the U.S. Code referenced below and open your dictionaries to the words "federal" and "crime". You may find it an illuminating experience.

"Under Title 8 Section 1325 of the U.S. Code, "Improper Entry by Alien," any citizen of any country other than the United States who:

* Enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers; or

* Eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers; or

* Attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact;

has committed a federal crime."

Here's to our search for "le mot juste".

[nicmarlo]

Actually, I don't condone name-calling, whether that be between family members or ethnic groups who are different than me. Besides being offensive to the person being called a name, it really tends to bring the problem to an emotional level, making it more difficult to resolve the issue at hand. It also creates the possibility of getting side-tracked onto arguments concerning the "name-calling" itself.....and the focus is no longer on the problem of criminal behavior, i.e., in the U.S. illegally.

[TheDon]

There's a cold wind blowing...

[hershey]

Okay, how about Mexican invaders?

[JeffersonRepublic.com]

[I guess we Texans can always return to the aptly-descriptive...]


Undocumented rafters :o)

[antiRepublicrat]

How about we turn the border area into a huge high-speed off-road track?

Then we can just call them "road kill."

[CowboyJay]

Gate-crashing-thugs?

Crimmivaders?

Welfare-hounds?

Self-smuggling-contraband?

Usurpers?

Squatters?

Insurrectionistas?

5th-wheel-on-a-donkey-cart?

Elitist-subsidy?

Advanced-party-revolutionaries?

Anarchists?

The 'Illiteration Nation'?

Jorge's Kids?

There's more where that came from... ;)