The phrase "illegal immigrants" keeps occurring in news reports about American President Donald Trump's thoughts and policies regarding people who slip into, and stay in, the USA without going through the proper channels.
The phrase "illegal immigrant" is a self-contradiction which, by virtue of its self-contradiction, evokes conflicting reactions from various people. We attempt in this essay to clarify the situation.
The word "immigrant" refers to someone who gains domestic nationality and residence by going through the proper channels and procedures. This way of entering, staying and working in a country is legal and legitimate -- and any call to arbitrarily expel, deport or in any way remove such a person from the domestic country rightly should be opposed.
Notice that an immigrant is someone who enters and stays in a country via legal means. This is why the phrase "illegal immigrant" is a self-contradictory.
Someone who enters and stays in a country illegally is not an immigrant. Such a person is referred to by the word "trespasser" -- and any call to remove him or her rightly should be supported. To not support such a call amounts to nullifying the rule of (immigration) law.
One reason why there is such strong objection to the idea of removing these trespassers is the objectors focus on the word "immigrant" and do not notice the word "illegal". The word "immigrant" connotes "legal, legitimate, approved" -- and hence such persons rightly should not be removed.
On the other hand, people who notice the word "illegal" -- and rightly view those who slip over the border as trespassers (not immigrants) -- feel little or no objection to preventing their entry and their removal. This is entirely separate from these trespassers competing for jobs or committing crimes while in the US. It is simply a matter of their illegal status -- and respect for law.
The problem, and appropriate action, will become much clearer once the self-contradictory phrase "illegal immigrant" is replaced by the correct term: "trespasser".
END
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment