In 2021, the Biden presidency removed usage of the term’ mysterious’ to identify immigrants. Also, words subject and this name is up. On January 21, 2025, US Immigration and Custom Enforcement ( ICE ) officially reinstated the use of the terms’ alien’ and ‘ alienage’ to define foreigners. As other organizations are expected to follow match, this is just the start.
Nathasha Rocha, immigration lawyer said,” When afterwards, we see terminology that doesn’t just describe—it affects. These words body people as outsiders, ultimately strange and essentially different from humanity”.
The expression’ alien’ carries a lengthy and complicated history. It has always had a connotation of exclusion, beginning with the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798 and afterward codified in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. For many,’ mysterious’ conjures images of something unusual, new, and ultimately different—a word that strips ahead individuality and belonging, she adds.
According to Rocha, study shows that conditions like these strengthen biases, shape public opinion, and influence criminal choices. This language only strengthens stigma and makes an already challenging journey even more difficult for immigrants, many of whom now face daunting challenges.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services ( USCIS ) released a new mission statement in February 2022, designating America as a” Nation of welcome and possibility” for immigrants. The earlier Trump presidency took the drastic step of removing the reference to America being a “nation of immigrants” from its mission statement in February 2018. The new goal statement stood in stark contrast to this. A standing mind has been appointed at this emigration firm as of right now. Immigration authorities after more anticipate changes to the mission statement once a” Trump candidate” is in place.
