Simple. The part where people attempt to apply it to human beings.
Like it or not, the phrase "illegal immigrant" accomplished nothing but the demeaning of people whose greatest offense, more often than not, is possessing a love of the United States so great that they are willing to risk prison and deportation for it. In fact, many of the people described by this perjorative term came to this county in full compliance with the laws for doing so. And the fact that many of them overstayed their visas is often due to circumstances they could not control. Moreover, many if not most of them have neither the knowledge to successfully navigate the immigration system, or the funds needing to hire the assistance of counsel for that purpose.
Being an immigrant is a statement about one's identity, not about one's right to be a human being--or, for that matter, to be treated as one. Are the objects of the "illegal immigrant" epithet on the wrong side of the law? Without a doubt. Are they, in some cases, delibrately trying to take advantage of the complexities of our system? Yes, in a few cases. But what does it say about our willingness to tolerate those complexities, our failure to give bureaucrats and judges the legal tools to make individual decisions about individuals, that in any way supports the righteous anger embodied in the epithet? Obeying the law is not just the responsibility of the ruled, but also of the rulers. In this society, that would be "We the People."
So, before we go any further in including the undocumented among the social scapegoats we use in the avoidance of our own culpability, perhaps we can learn to mentally recapture the humanity we have systematically stripped from them with the words "illegal immigrant." Perhaps the media can help us to start, and perhaps they already have.
And, in any case, never lose sight of this. Immigrants, regardless of their status, are many things. They are workers. They are taxpayers. They are employers. They are parents, children, siblings and spouses. And, to paraphrase "V for Vendetta," they are you, they are me, they are all of us.
That's the part of "illegal" that I don't understand. And neither should you.
1 comment:
Excellent posting that unfortunately may be ignored by those with closed minds. Let us hope the Congress has their minds open to the real will of the people and that is PRO immigration, good for the country and good for all of us. Let other political forces and events not cloud our judgment.
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