The Semantics of Politics

Is 'illegal Alien' a Racial Slur?

Calling an illegal alien an undocumented immigrant is like calling a burglar an uninvited house guest - illegalaliens.us

Semantics are a large part of politics. Using the "correct" word is an important part of any politician's speech, any new law, and any article. Use of even one seemingly incorrect word can create a focus on that one word and cause the loss of an entire message. 

According to the United States Customs and Border Protection, Office of Border Patrol, an 'illegal alien,' is "an individual who has entered the United States without proper documentation or permission." This term is the phrase most commonly used by the United States government in federal documents.

Frederica Wilson (D-Miami), a Florida state senator, recently sponsored a bill that would ban the use of the term "illegal alien" from all official state documents, stating, "These are our colleagues, our friends, neighbors."

Perhaps, then, our colleagues, friends, and neighbors, should be certain they are here legally. Much like I strongly believe that a person who does not vote in an election has little room to complain about the elected official legislates, I do not believe someone who should not be in our country has room to complain about what term our government uses to describe them. That opinion aside, it is really not an offensive term.

Dissecting the term is simple. Illegal - nobody can argue with the fact that people entering the United States without documentation or permission are here contrary to our laws. The word "alien." Here is where semantics enters the picture.

"To me an alien is somebody who is from another planet," said Wilson. "All of us are immigrants except the American Indian. Now how would we like it if they called us aliens. The only people who should not be called that should be American Indians."