The ABC news show Good Morning America has dropped use of the term “illegal” when describing immigrants in the country who have no documents to establish their legal residency. Earlier this week, anchors for the popular morning program opted instead for “undocumented Americans.” – Hispanically Speaking News 12/21/13
Fact Check: This is simply another example of media leaders twisting language to serve the politically correct agenda of ignoring America’s immigration laws. The people in question are foreigners who reside illegally in the United States. That is precisely the reason they lack bona fide documents to prove legal residency. Thus to call them “undocumented” is to obfuscate why they lack papers, i.e., they are lawbreakers.
But far more outrageous is calling them Americans, as if these foreign lawbreakers are the same as American citizens. This is a complete falsehood, and one that strongly suggests a sinister agenda.
Those who support rights and benefits for foreigners who break our laws don’t appear to have a high regard for American law and the concept of America a nation under the rule of law. Nor do they seem to have much regard for the status of our citizenship, when they commonly propose, through amnesty legislation, to give it as a reward to foreigners who reside illegally in our country. Indeed, as already noted, some of them don’t even distinguish between citizens and foreigners in the first place.
Thus if U.S. advocates of foreign law-breakers have a low regard for American law and a low regard for American citizenship, can we conclude that they have a low regard for America as well? And if that is true, is it unreasonable to suggest that they are traitors who are promoting subversion against their country?
This is indeed a harsh speculation, but it is one with logic behind it. If the U.S. foreign advocates are offended by this speculation, they should explain why it isn’t true. Until they do the burden of suspicion—and the burden of proof—is on them.
In the meantime, we might observe what the proper term is for foreigners illegally residing in the United States. Instead of “undocumented” the word should be illegal. In U.S. law the word “alien” denotes a foreigner. Put the two together, and you have the proper term: illegal alien.