US States Drop Term ‘Alien’ for Undocumented Immigrants

Two American states have banned state agencies from using the word "alien" to describe undocumented immigrants.

The change was enacted¹ into law in California and Colorado and several other states are considering similar legislation.

Immigrants and immigrant-rights groups say the use of "alien" – especially when combined with "illegal" – is dehumanizing and can have a harmful effect on immigration policy.

In California, Democratic lawmaker Luz Rivas wrote the bill that replaces use of "alien" in state law descriptions with terms such as "noncitizen" or "immigrant."

Rivas told The Associated Press that she remembered as a child seeing the word alien on her mother's residency identification. To the government, it meant her mother was not yet a citizen of the United States. But to her, it meant the family did not belong, even though they were going through the naturalization process.

"I want other children of immigrants, like me, to not feel the same way I did, that my family did, when we saw the word ‘alien'," Rivas said.

The word became the subject of debate in several states earlier this year as the number of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border grew sharply. Lawmakers in at least seven states have considered removing use of "alien" and "illegal" in state laws, the National Conference of State Legislatures reports.

Colorado is the other state to make the change official. State Senator Julie Gonzales co-wrote the Colorado law. She told a legislative² committee words such as "illegal" were "dehumanizing and derogatory." The law removed the term "illegal alien" from a state law used to describe people living in the U.S. illegally.

"That language has been offensive for many people," Gonzales said. "And some of the rationale behind that is really rooted in this idea that a person can certainly commit an illegal act, but no human being themselves is illegal."

The use of "alien" to describe non-U.S. citizens has a long history. It dates back to the nation's first naturalization law, passed by the first U.S. President, George Washington. Fearing a war with France, Congress also passed the Alien and Sedition³ Acts in 1798, which sought to reduce political subversion⁴.

Moves to stop the word alien have been criticized by some legislators. Sage⁵ Naumann is a spokesperson for Colorado's Senate Republicans. He told the AP he does not think most Coloradans or Americans care about "what semi-controversial words are buried" in state laws.

He said the Democratic-controlled legislature should spend its time on matters of deeper importance to citizens, such as measures to fight inflation, reduce crime and improve education.

The federal government has also taken action on the issue. In April, U.S. Customs and Border Protection ordered workers to avoid using the word "alien" in agency documents and public communication. Employees were instructed to use "noncitizen" or "migrant" instead. The term "illegal alien" was also removed and replaced with descriptions such as "undocumented noncitizen."

The acting⁶ head of the agency, Troy Miller⁷, said the change was aimed at protecting "the dignity of every individual with whom we interact."

But the head of the U.S. Border Patrol, Rodney Scott, objected to the agency order. He argued that the change went against current language in criminal law. "To change the law is fine, but until then you're really politicizing the mission," Scott said.

Words in This Story

alien – n. someone who does not legally belong to the country where they live or work

residency – n. the state of living in a place

naturalization – n. the act of making someone a legal citizen of a country that they were not born in

derogatory – adj. showing strong disapproval⁸ and not showing respect

rationale – n. the reasons or intentions that cause a particular set of beliefs or actions

controversial – adj. causing disagreement or discussion

dignity – n. calm, serious and controlled behavior that makes people respect you

mission – n. any work that someone believes it is their duty to do

1 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

2 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

3 sedition   

n.煽动叛乱

参考例句：

• Government officials charged him with sedition.政府官员指控他煽动人们造反。
• His denial of sedition was a denial of violence.他对煽动叛乱的否定又是对暴力的否定。

4 subversion   

n.颠覆，破坏

参考例句：

• He was arrested in parliament on charges of subversion for organizing the demonstration.他因组织示威活动在议会上被以颠覆破坏罪名逮捕。
• It had a cultural identity relatively immune to subversion from neighboring countries.它的文化同一性使它相对地不易被邻国所颠覆。

5 sage   

n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的

参考例句：

• I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告。
• The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。

6 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

7 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

8 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。