So say adiós to any official mention of “assimilation,” and hola to “civic integration.” Time to replace “alien” with “noncitizen.” And “illegal alien,” the harsh-sounding couplet that conjures up images of intergalactic invasions? But their legacy looms large in the debate over “illegal alien.” It was their shared linguistic cudgel to advance their respective causes. For them, “illegal alien” was anodyne and a far-better alternative than “wetback.” Take a letter that UCLA’s Chicano Law Student Assn. The paper used “illegal alien” in news stories as recently as the early 2000s. Together, the words don’t allow any subtlety.”Anti-immigrant activists doubled down on “illegal alien,” and conservative politicians followed.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 19, 2021 13:02 UTC