In the stupidity department, from Newsday: A small group of immigrants gathered in Woodbury Monday to protest the use of the word "illegal" to describe those who have entered the United States without documentation.
"By saying illegal, they're assuming that we broke a criminal law," said Jackeline Saavedra, 27, of Bay Shore, a Touro Law Center student who identified herself as undocumented. "Not everybody enters illegally."
Coordinators said they prefer the phrase "undocumented immigrant."
Osman Canales, 23, an immigrant
rights advocate in Huntington who organized the protest, said using the
word "illegal" criminalizes a whole community. "It's a racist word
against our community, so we're just here to raise awareness," he said.
The protest mirrored a larger effort
nationwide to push media outlets and people in general to stop using the
word "illegal" when referring to immigrants.
The "Drop The I-Word" campaign was
organized by The Applied Research Center, a New York City-based racial
justice think tank. Its goal, according to its news website,
Colorlines.com, is to "eradicate the slur 'illegals' from everyday use
and public discourse."
Campaign coordinator Monica Novoa said that in two years, 14,000 people have signed the group's pledge.
"Using a phrase like 'illegal aliens'
or 'illegals' . . . reinforces the notion that you could treat another
individual as less than a human being," said Alina Das, assistant
professor of clinical law at New York University. "One action -- whether it's a crime -- shouldn't be used to define a whole group of people or one individual."
But Gallya Lahav, associate professor of political science at Stony Brook University, said the term "undocumented" has flaws.
"It's a politically correct way of
saying illegal," she said. "What you're also talking about in proper
form are the real undocumented -- asylum seekers -- people who are
fleeing for threats of their life or freedom."
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/immigrants-protest-illegal-label-1.3916690
Definition of illegal: not according to or authorized by law http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/illegal
While you may not have come here illegally, as in a parent brings you in or if you overstay, you are still here illegally.
So, these illegals protesting the term "illegal" are still illegal aliens, no matter what they think or say.
Note to the Confused Jay Weber
28 minutes ago
I'm not as offended by the term as I am by the sloppy English. Calling illegal aliens "illegals," is like when people call their cell phone their "cell" or calling a digital camera "the digital." No, it's a phone and a camera! Anyway, a person isn't an adjective.
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