- Jul 21, 2009
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Some idiots are beginning to protest the fact that illegals are being called illegal. They believe that places a stigma on them and that is not only unfair but according to them inaccurate.
So what are we supposed to call them?
Undocumented Democrats?
Links
Poder 360° - Don?t Call Them Illegals
Drop the I-Word. Don't call people "illegals." Sign the Pledge.
Dont Call Them Illegals
Changing the words we use can change our perception of undocumented residents
George Muñoz
Calling people illegals is wrong. Violation of immigration laws is not an automatic crime. Therefore, labeling 12 million immigrants in this country as criminals or illegals is not only inaccurate, it may be libelous. It also inflames the immigration debate. It encourages punitive measures on the false assumption that criminality is involved. We need to challenge the use of this term even if it is being used innocently.
Doing something illegally does not make you an illegal. It may be wrong to violate government regulations and civil lawsincluding immigration lawsbut that does not always mean a crime has been committed. The U.S. Attorney General recently reconfirmed this notion in relation to another matter. In a speech this summer to the American Bar Association in which he was explaining his decision to not take legal action against certain violators of civil laws, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Not every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime. In this instance, the two joint reports found only violations of the civil service laws.
Well, guess what? Most violations of our immigration laws are civil infractions. They are not crimes or felonies. Under the law, the unauthorized presence of foreigners in our country because of lack of a valid visa or documents is subject to a due process hearing and deportation if the infraction is not cleared up. This is a civilnot a criminalproceeding. This civil law violation is upgraded to a crime if a person who was deported reenters our country without the proper documentation. But the fact is that most of the 12 million immigrants whose presence is unauthorized are not deemed to be guilty of a crime, which means they are not, in fact, illegals.
There are those who do not want to let go of the word illegals or criminals in referring to people in our country who cannot prove their legal residency or valid visa status. They argue, What part of illegal do you not understand? Our response should be: what part of slander and libel do you not understand? A couple of years ago, there was a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would have made it a crime, rather than a civil law violation, to be an undocumented worker in this country or to employ one. But that bill did not become law. Yet some act as if it did.
Changing the words we use can change our perception of undocumented residents
George Muñoz
Calling people illegals is wrong. Violation of immigration laws is not an automatic crime. Therefore, labeling 12 million immigrants in this country as criminals or illegals is not only inaccurate, it may be libelous. It also inflames the immigration debate. It encourages punitive measures on the false assumption that criminality is involved. We need to challenge the use of this term even if it is being used innocently.
Doing something illegally does not make you an illegal. It may be wrong to violate government regulations and civil lawsincluding immigration lawsbut that does not always mean a crime has been committed. The U.S. Attorney General recently reconfirmed this notion in relation to another matter. In a speech this summer to the American Bar Association in which he was explaining his decision to not take legal action against certain violators of civil laws, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Not every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime. In this instance, the two joint reports found only violations of the civil service laws.
Well, guess what? Most violations of our immigration laws are civil infractions. They are not crimes or felonies. Under the law, the unauthorized presence of foreigners in our country because of lack of a valid visa or documents is subject to a due process hearing and deportation if the infraction is not cleared up. This is a civilnot a criminalproceeding. This civil law violation is upgraded to a crime if a person who was deported reenters our country without the proper documentation. But the fact is that most of the 12 million immigrants whose presence is unauthorized are not deemed to be guilty of a crime, which means they are not, in fact, illegals.
There are those who do not want to let go of the word illegals or criminals in referring to people in our country who cannot prove their legal residency or valid visa status. They argue, What part of illegal do you not understand? Our response should be: what part of slander and libel do you not understand? A couple of years ago, there was a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would have made it a crime, rather than a civil law violation, to be an undocumented worker in this country or to employ one. But that bill did not become law. Yet some act as if it did.
So what are we supposed to call them?
Undocumented Democrats?
Links
Poder 360° - Don?t Call Them Illegals
Drop the I-Word. Don't call people "illegals." Sign the Pledge.
