In a recent policy memorandum from the Biden administration, illegal aliens were granted additional protection, chiefly in the form of the language permitted to describe them, as well as the language not permitted to describe them. In short, the memo bans individuals from using accurate legal terminology to describe illegal aliens.
The memo was initially released last week, with the Department of Justice insisting that the phrase “illegal alien,” as well as all other terminology, cannot be used anymore, either in external or internal communications. Instead, more politically correct phrases are to be used.
In essence, the memorandum brings to mind what George Orwell long foreshadowed in 1984, wherein the totalitarian government mandated “welcoming strategies” for illegal immigrants.
Adopting such approaches in the United States are disturbingly close to policing speech, given that the Biden administration is not only attempting to control the actions of immigration authorities, but also the words of immigration authorities.
Guidelines for how to discuss illegal immigrants in a politically correct manner originates from one of Biden’s numerous executive orders, namely the Executive Order 14012, which claims to have the following objective: “Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans.”
The memorandum become effective on June 26, and Jean King, who serves as the Acting Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, notes that the memo “clarifies proper terminology” for staff at the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), as well as how ” to use language that is ‘[consistent] with our character as a Nation of opportunity and of welcome.”
According to the EOIR, its primary mission is “to adjudicate immigration cases by fairly, expeditiously, and uniformly interpreting and administering” the various laws pertaining to immigration, including while it conducts “administrative hearings,” “appellate reviews,” and “court proceedings.”
This memo also provides a convenient chart for the “current” terminology, which will be utilized from here on out for “internal and external communications,” as well as “EOIR decisions.”
Specifically, instead of the word “alien,” EOIR staff must use terms such as “noncitizen,” “beneficiary,” “migrant,” “petitioner,” and a host of other politically correct words.
Moreover, the term “unaccompanied alien child” will be replaced with phrases such as “UC” or “unaccompanied noncitizen child.”
The Biden admin has also changed the name of the Fugitive Operations initiative, known as SOAR, from "Sex Offender Alien Removal" to "Sex Offender Arrest and Removal". Wouldn't want to offend criminal aliens with accurate legal terminology, I suppose. https://t.co/TuwfYf7S57 pic.twitter.com/ljO8nDAbDi
— Jon Feere 🇺🇸 (@JonFeere) July 27, 2021
The Biden administration permits only one exception to this rule, and that exception pertains to whether or not EOIR staff are quoting court orders, legal opinions, settlement agreements, or legal statues. Given that “noncitizen” is not a word, various laws still retain the phrase “alien.”
