Indian-origin immigration attorney Rahul Reddy has strongly opposed the official use of the word 'alien' in American parlance to refer to non-US citizens. While acknowledging that the term is legally defined, Reddy argued that it is dehumanizing and should not be used by the White House.
Legal term with harmful implications
Reddy explained that in immigration law, 'alien' refers to any person who is not a US citizen, including Green Card holders who have paid taxes for decades. However, when the White House uses phrases like 'aliens walk among us,' it becomes propaganda that narrows the meaning to illegal immigrants, fostering fear and suspicion.
Lawful immigrants portrayed as less than human
These are people who followed the rules, stood in lines, and earned their place. When the government packages that neutral legal term with fear, secrecy, invasion, and danger, the message is unmistakable: people who are here lawfully are being portrayed as something less than human, Reddy said. He questioned whether Melania Trump, born in Slovenia, would also be considered an alien.
Melania Trump was born in Slovenia, immigrated to the United States, and became a naturalized US citizen. President Trump’s first wife, Ivana, was born in Czechoslovakia and also naturalized. His mother was born in Scotland, and his grandfather in Germany. Immigration is not some distant issue in the President’s life; it is his own family story. If lawful immigrants are outsiders who do not belong here, then the President’s own family history is an immigrant story too, Reddy added.
Danger of dehumanizing language
Reddy highlighted the danger of such official language, noting that America has every right to enforce its immigration laws but can do so without losing humanity. The real danger of this language is that it does not stay aimed at the undocumented. It spreads, breeding suspicion toward anyone with an accent, a foreign name, an immigrant background, or a foreign-born spouse. Lawful permanent residents, visa holders, students, naturalized citizens, and their American children all get caught in the crossfire, he said.
I see it in my practice already: people with valid status, valid work permits, and valid futures in this country are made to feel like intruders by their own government. When the White House demonizes aliens, it is law-abiding immigrant families who pay the price, Reddy concluded.
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