Why we say undocumented

Language is important and the words we use to describe things, or people, matter. Our choice of words can enhance clarity, enlighten, and encourage or discourage empathy.

In the realm of politics, few phrases are more debated more than whether to use “undocumented” or “illegal” immigrants when discussing people who are here without proper paperwork. As you can probably guess, I prefer the former. First, there is simple humanity. An action can be illegal, a person cannot. Referring to a person as illegal is dehumanizing, which, for its users, is often the point. Thinking about them as our sisters and brothers might lead us to care about their welfare and would encourage more thoughtful and compassionate discussions regarding how to address the issue than some are willing to have. In case you think I’m just parsing words, there are other points. It isn’t just about being politically correct, undocumented is simply more accurate.

It might surprise some to learn that the simple act of being present in the US without proper paperwork is not, of itself, a crime. It is simply a civil violation.

Now, crossing the border in an unauthorized way is illegal. It is a misdemeanor under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. This is the last major overhaul of our immigration system and it changed the racist policies that had been in place since 1924, favoring European countries.

But although there are people who cross the border illegally, they are a small portion of those counted as undocumented. And, many of them go back to their own countries after a short stay. In some recent years, more have left than have come to the US.

The largest single category of undocumented immigrants is not that of illegal border crossers, but rather those who came legally and overstayed their visas. This happens due to oversight, laziness, backlogs, or simply a choice. For the last decade, visa overstays have outnumbered illegal border crossers and of the undocumented population overall, there are more than half a million more of them.

Overstaying a visa is not a crime. It is simply a civil violation.

Then there is another large category, one that has been in the news recently, those who were brought over without documents as children. Whomever, whether a parent, other relative, coyote, or stranger, who brought them over, may have committed a crime, but the children did not. Many are young adults now and the US is the only country they have ever really known.

These young people, sometimes referred to as Dreamers, have also committed no crime. The term Dreamers comes from the proposed DREAM Act, a legislative proposal first introduced by Dick Durban (D-illinois) and Orrin Hatch (R-utah) in 2001, and it stands for Development, Relief, and Education, for Alien Minors.

For some time, it seemed inevitable that some version of immigration reform, including relief for Dreamers, would pass Congress. There was broad public support and bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. But, anti-immigration forces within the Republican Party prevented this during the Obama administration and Trump campaigned on an anti-immigrant platform, so he is tying reform for Dreamers with larger changes to the legal immigration system, including proposals to limit legal immigration and family reunification.

The Obama administration established the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, along the lines of what had been the near-consensus, allowing for young people brought here as children to get an education and a job. They still had no path to citizenship, which could not be done without legislation, but it was a start.

Not only did DACA participants not commit a crime when brought over as children, they are all innocent of any crime because those with any criminal history are ineligible.

The American public has a lot of compassion for DACA participants. A Fox News poll showed that more than four in five believe they should be allowed work permits and nearly that many were in favor of them having a path to citizenship.

DACA does not do that and only Congress can. But unfortunately, these young people have become political footballs as the president, and his most extreme advisors put forth ever-changing demands in exchange for protecting them, things ranging from funding for a border wall (which Trump promised would be paid for by Mexico) and massive cutbacks in legal immigration.

The rhetoric they use is part of this strategy. By conflating visa overstays and Dreamers with border crossers and calling them all “illegal,” they hope you will set aside your natural compassion and ignore their humanity.