WASHINGTON — Alien. Origin: Latin. Definition: a foreigner.
When it first appeared in an English treatise, the term applied to anyone born outside the British Isles, including those in the Colonies that would become the United States. The first uses of the word were technical, but it took on a pejorative meaning in the early 1970s, when Mexican Americans became the racial targets of xenophobic politicians and trade unions, right-wing groups, and federal immigration agencies.
So, it was fitting to some political analysts and immigrant advocates when President Biden signaled on his first day in office that he wanted to slash the word alien from immigration laws and replace it with “noncitizen.” It was one of several sweeping actions to reverse a hardline approach to immigration under a predecessor who paved his way to the White House decrying Mexicans as criminals and rapists.
The executive orders, memorandums, and directives flowing from the Oval Office are expected to continue Tuesday, with the announcement of a task force to reunite migrant families separated by immigration officials under then-President Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy.
The flurry of moves has been a mix of the symbolic and the substantive, and together they represent a stark departure from Trump’s rhetoric and policies, even if the prospects for the boldest action so far — a broad immigration bill — remain very much in doubt because of Republican opposition.
Read here.