Advice to GOP Politicians: Don’t Call Immigrants ‘Illegal’
By Roque Planas, Huffington Post Latino Voices
Will the revitalized immigration debate change the language politicians use?
Organizations and advocates including journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, the publication Colorlines, and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists have tried to convince mainstream media to drop the term “illegal immigrant,” saying it criminalizes people rather than their actions.
And now a center-right political organization is pushing conservatives to do the same.
The Hispanic Leadership Network sent around a “Dos and Don’ts of Immigration Reform” to politicians this week. It contains common-sense advice for those looking to discuss immigration without offending the sensibilities of Latino voters, 90 percent of whom support the DREAM Act and 85 percent of whom favor a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented, according to a Fox News Latino poll conducted last year.
“Do use ‘undocumented immigrant’ when referring to those here without documentation,” the memo recommends. “Don’t use the word ‘illegals’ or ‘aliens.’ Don’t use the term ‘anchor baby.’”
The Hispanic Leadership Network has a compelling reason to urge politicians to adopt such language when discussing immigration: the same Fox News Latino poll found that 46 percent of Hispanic voters find the term “illegal immigrant” offensive. There are also new questions about the term’s accuracy, now that a class of undocumented immigrants is permitted to stay legally in the United States under President Obama’s June directive to defer deportation for childhood arrivals.
The message falls on deaf ears for some. Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies, who backs stricter immigration enforcement, dismissed the suggestion on Twitter:
Will the revitalized immigration debate change the language politicians use?
Organizations and advocates including journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, the publication Colorlines, and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists have tried to convince mainstream media to drop the term “illegal immigrant,” saying it criminalizes people rather than their actions.
And now a center-right political organization is pushing conservatives to do the same.
The Hispanic Leadership Network sent around a “Dos and Don’ts of Immigration Reform” to politicians this week. It contains common-sense advice for those looking to discuss immigration without offending the sensibilities of Latino voters, 90 percent of whom support the DREAM Act and 85 percent of whom favor a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented, according to a Fox News Latino poll conducted last year.
“Do use ‘undocumented immigrant’ when referring to those here without documentation,” the memo recommends. “Don’t use the word ‘illegals’ or ‘aliens.’ Don’t use the term ‘anchor baby.’”
The Hispanic Leadership Network has a compelling reason to urge politicians to adopt such language when discussing immigration: the same Fox News Latino poll found that 46 percent of Hispanic voters find the term “illegal immigrant” offensive. There are also new questions about the term’s accuracy, now that a class of undocumented immigrants is permitted to stay legally in the United States under President Obama’s June directive to defer deportation for childhood arrivals.
The message falls on deaf ears for some. Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies, who backs stricter immigration enforcement, dismissed the suggestion on Twitter:
The point was also lost on congressmen like Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.), who is actively pushing away the Latino vote, or immigration hardliner Steve King (R-Iowa) who filed legislation to stop what he calls “anchor babies” in the first week of this year’s Congress.
The point was also lost on congressmen like Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.), who is actively pushing away the Latino vote, or immigration hardliner Steve King (R-Iowa) who filed legislation to stop…
This article was first published in Huffington Post Latino Voices.
[Photo courtesy Hispanic Leadership Network]