Biden to remove 'alien' word from US laws to 'recognise America as nation of immigrants'

Newly minted US President Joe Biden has proposed a bill to remove the word “alien” from US immigration laws as a symbolic gesture to acknowledge the country as a “nation of immigrants”. According to the immigration bill, Biden has said that he plans to replace the term “alien” with “non-citizen”. His latest proposal is just one small part of the sweeping immigration overhaul that he is pushing, but the symbolic significance is considered to be huge. 

The press release read, ”The bill further recognizes America as a nation of immigrants by changing the word “alien” to “noncitizen” in our immigration laws”. 

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While speaking to CNN, Jose Vargas, who is an undocumented immigrant, said that language change on the first day of the Biden administration, with Vice President Kamala Harris the daughter of immigrants, is “not just symbolic…it’s foundational”. It is worth noting that the term “illegal alien” has been long decried as a dehumanising slur by immigrant rights advocates. The term was frequently used under the Trump administration, with some top federal officials even encouraging its use. 

Several local jurisdictions, on the other hand, have already moved to modify the word used to define immigrants. According to the media outlet, back in 2015, then California Governor Jerry Brown had signed a bill that removed the word “alien” from labor law. In 2019, New York City also banned the use of the word when they’re used “with intent to demean, humiliate or harass a person”. Acting Secretary of Homeland Security in 2019, Kevin McAleenan, had also avoided using the term “illegal aliens” and instead described people as “migrants”. 

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Biden’s immigration reform bill 

Meanwhile, Biden has made immigration a top priority as took office on Wednesday. He issued an executive order revoking the Muslim ban. The 46th US President also unveiled a plan to give farmworkers permeant residency and a way for Dreamers to have a pathway to citizenship. 

In order to modify Trump’s stringent immigration rules, Biden not only halted the construction of the US-Mexico border wall but also sent an immigration bill (the US Citizenship Act of 2021) to Congress to modernise the immigration system. The bill creates an earned path to citizenship for immigrant neighbours, colleagues, parishioners, community leaders, friends, and loved ones, and the essential workers who have risked their lives to serve and protect American communities. In his first day in the office, Biden has made his intentions clear. 

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