Several states across the country have either passed laws or are working on legislation to change language regarding immigration, intending to replace correct terms such as “illegal alien” with politically correct terms, as reported by the New York Post.
Thus far, only two states have actually passed laws to ban such language: California and Colorado. The California law, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) in September, was written by Assemblywoman Luz Rivas (D-Calif.), herself the daughter of an illegal alien. The law forced state statutes and other state entities to replace the word “alien” with words such as “noncitizen” or “immigrant.”
The law in Colorado was co-sponsored by State Senator Julie Gonzales (D-Colo.), who described the terms “illegal” and “alien” as “dehumanizing and derogatory,” as well as “offensive for many people.”
“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,” Gonzales said, repeating a common trope among supporters of amnesty and open borders.
A similar attempt will be made in Texas next year by State Representative Art Fierro (D-Texas), who claimed that the legislation is about using “dignified, respectful” terms, and that he is “just trying to treat people humanely.” Fierro will propose a bill in the next regular legislative session in 2023.
Lawmakers in at least seven states considered such legislation over the course of 2021, with most of them following the lead of the Biden Administration. In April, the Biden White House implemented similar language changes at the federal level, ordering employees with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to stop using terms such as “alien,” and instead use “noncitizen” or “migrant.” “Illegal alien” was replaced altogether by “undocumented noncitizen.”