Revise for Latino immigrants outline and write a draft based on it

What is “illegality”?

WORD SOUP…

• illegal alien • illegal immigrant • “Illegals” • undocumented immigrant • non-citizen • unauthorized immigrant • irregular immigrant • entry without inspection/ "EWI” • visa over-stayer • migrant

• Guestworker • DACAmented • asylum seeker • political asylee • Refugee • Dreamer • lawful permanent resident • legal immigrant • LPR • green card holder • nonimmigrant visa

Today:

• Clarify and refine the language we use to talk about immigration

• Develop a “lexicon” for talking about immigration and il/legality

Time to get philosophical…

• What are some things – not related to immigration – that we often describe as “illegal”?

• What makes these things illegal? • Why are these things illegal? • What happens when something illegal happens? • What rights do people who do illegal things have? • Is an illegal action always immoral? Is an immoral action

always illegal? (What is the relationship between illegality and morality?)

Important to note…

• Specificity of legal parameters/regulations • Typically illegal ACTIONS not things • Intent** • Discretion** • Mitigating circumstances** • Degrees of seriousness** • Proportionality of punishment**

“Illegal” immigration…

• How do we use the word “illegal” in the context of immigration? What does it mean? • What is “illegal immigration”? • What is an “illegal immigrant”? • What is an “illegal”?

• How does this usage compare to how we use the term “illegal” in other contexts?

How do others use these terms? Ap statement on "illegal immigrant" https://blog.ap.org/announcements/illegal-immigrant-no-more

Perspective from an immigration lawyer- https://bordercrossinglaw.com/nohumanbeingisillegal

2018 doj statement on "illegal aliens " https://qz.com/1336110/its-illegal-aliens-not-undocumented-immigrants-says-the-us-department-of- justice/

Nyt on language around ill imm https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/insider/illegal-undocumented-unauthorized-the-terms-of- immigration-reporting.html

The Heritage Foundation (conservative think tank) editorial

https://www.heritage.org/immigration/commentary/undocumented-immigrant-made-term-ignores- the-law

UNHCR –

https://www.unhcr.org/cy/wp- content/uploads/sites/41/2018/09/TerminologyLeaflet_EN_PICUM.pdf

What terms do scholars use?

• Excerpts handout (Ngai, Gomberg-Munoz, Thomas and Galemba)

WHY--- What rationale does the author/organization use for the terminology they have chosen to use? Compare for: AP, HuffPost, NYT, DOJ, and the three scholarly sources. Specifically, what do scholars say about this terminology? Why do some choose to use the word “illegal” despite the controversy?

WHY/WHY NOT

• The “inaccurate”/ “imprecise” argument • The “offensive”/ “harmful language” argument

(“dehumanizing”)

• Indicating the socially constructed notion of illegality in order to acknowledge it’s impact

• WHY inaccurate? WHY imprecise?

OK, so where does that leave us?

• Do you think we should use these terms? If so, how should we use them, and why? • “illegal immigration”? • “illegal immigrant”? • “illegal” (as a noun)?

• What definitions for the term should we use?

Alternative/similar terms…

• “undocumented immigrant/migrant” • “unauthorized immigrant/migrant” • “irregular immigrant/migrant” • “EWI” or “entry without inspection” • visa-overstayer • “Dreamer” • “noncitizen” • “DACAmented” NOTE – each with slightly different meaning and/or connotation

IOM Glossary: https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/iml25_1.pdf

The bottom line in our class…

• You are not required to use/not use one term or another. BUT

• I want you to be AWARE of the stakes of using some terms over others

• I will request that you be CONSIDERATE of your peers and how the words you choose might affect them (remember our ground rules)

• I expect you to choose ACCURATE terms that reflect the facts of what you are discussing/writing about

• In your papers, you must DEFINE your terms to ensure clarity and accuracy – cite the IOM glossary for definitions

Constructing Illegality Timeline

• Review De Genova, Kibria, and Gomberg-Muñoz (Ch 2) to create a timeline for your assigned timeframe, answering: • IDENTIFY - What were the key pieces of policy/law that

contributed to the development of “illegal” migration flows and popular notions about “illegality”?

• DESCRIBE - What did each policy do? • EXPLAIN - How did it contribute to the production of

“illegal” migration, and the association of “illegality” with Mexican/Latin American migration?