A sweeping immigration reform bill by President Joe Biden is set to, among other things, remove the term “alien” from U.S. immigration laws. It seeks to replace the word with “noncitizen,” a less dehumanizing way to refer to those seeking entry to the United States of America. And to no one’s surprise, people got mad. They couldn’t understand why the term is so important and why it matters to those trying to become legal citizens. Luckily, I’m here to explain.
The word “alien” is used to describe someone that is “other.” It’s a way of separating people between those that “belong” and those who don’t, and it paints a picture in someone’s mind of a person who is otherworldly and doesn’t understand the complexities of what it means to be part of a collective. It ignores the fact that these so called “aliens” are human beings who are just looking for better opportunities for themselves and their families.
“Alien” is also a way for racists to not recognize those who are different from them as human. When they use the word “alien,” it’s a declaration to immigrants that they will never be true citizens, no matter the hoops they go through to do things the legal way. They will always be the other who shouldn’t be here for reasons racists can’t truly explain besides because they’re bigoted. And letting this kind of language continue to dominate our immigration laws is a way of bolstering racist rhetoric.
Using the word “noncitizen” is less dehumanizing. It speaks of potential and hope to one day become a citizen of the U.S. It also respects the immigrants’ journeys and the struggles they had to go through to get to the U.S. in the first place. A lot of people think that immigrants are moving to the U.S. to “steal our jobs” or other nonsense. In reality they are escaping poverty, persecution, death, and so many heartbreaking things that racists don’t think about because they’re stuck on their high horse where they have no problem separating families and putting kids in cages.
It’s time to say “no more” to racists and their pompous behavior towards immigrants. Because believe it or not, we are all immigrants. The only people that belong to this land of the United States of America are the Indigenous people who were here long before us. We are a mixing pot of so many diverse and fantastic people and Joe Biden is reminding us of that with his immigration reform bill. And if you still disagree, if you still think that it’s ok to call immigrants “alien” instead of “noncitizen,” you’re part of the racist problem we need to get rid of.
Sorry, not sorry.
(image: DAVID MCNEW/AFP/Getty Images)
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