Define "Illegal"...

Alright, listen up.  Today's lesson is on Libspeak.  Libspeak is what I have termed the gush of euphemisms that spew from the mouths of the liberal left.  It markedly resembles Doublespeak.  Doublespeak was the 'governmental language' described by George Orwell.  If you have not heard of George Orwell and are not familiar with his incredibly prophetic political book "1984", then let me use Wikipedia to define the term for you:

'Doublespeak is language that deliberately disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words. Doublespeak may take the form of euphemisms (e.g., "downsizing" for layoffs), making the truth less unpleasant, without denying its nature. It may also be deployed as intentional ambiguity, or reversal of meaning (for example, naming a state of war "peace"). In such cases, doublespeak disguises the nature of the truth, producing a communication bypass.'

Doublespeak has been used a lot lately, in an attempt to confuse folks about certain issues.  Sometimes they even call this "being politically correct".  However, I happen to think that we could clear up some things if we all just had a dictionary and USED IT.  Today I have some terms that are particularly buggin' me, and I'd like to take a stab at helping y'all understand the differences in meanings.
So here goes-

Illegal Alien VS  Undocumented Immigrant -
    Let's break these down individually, shall we?
il·le·gal 

   [ih-lee-guhl]

adjective
1. forbidden by law or statute.
2. contrary to or forbidden by official rules, regulations, etc.   EX: When Jose crossed the border hiding in his friend's trunk, it was an illegal entry into the United States.
                                 ("PROHIBIDO" means
                          PROHIBITED in Spanish, kids.)

al·ien

   [eyl-yuhn, ey-lee-uhn]

noun
1. a resident born in or belonging to another country who has not acquired citizenship by naturalization ( distinguished from citizen).   EX: Even though Jung Lee was living in San Francisco under a work visa, he was considered an alien because he was born in Vietnam.
2. a foreigner.
adjective
1. residing under a government or in a country other than that of one's birth without having or obtaining the status of citizenship there.    EX: Hilda still had alien status because her U.S. citizenship had not yet been approved since her arrival from Germany.

 Put them together and what do you have kiddies?  An "ILLEGAL ALIEN" is someone born in another country who has come into the United States without LEGAL permission, and/or is continuing to live in the United States without the proper LEGAL authorization, in direct violation of the United States' Immigration Laws.  It is not a deragatory term necessarily, unless you object to being called out for doing something illegal.  In that case...don't do stuff that's illegal!

un·doc·u·ment·ed

   [uhn-dok-yuh-men-tid]

adjective

1. lacking documentation or authentication.

2. lacking proper immigration or working papers.

EX:  The airport officials detained Jean-Pierre as an undocumented visitor because he had forgotten to bring his work visa.

im·mi·grant

   [im-i-gruhnt]

noun

1. a person who emigrates to another country, usually for permanent residence.  EX:  Bianca's ancestors were Italian immigrants who applied for United States citizenship so they could have better lives in America.

Put these two terms together and you get a completely different perspective.  The term "undocumented immigrant" is actually a person moving from one country to another but who is without the proper documentation.  This is not necessarily due to an illegal reason however, nor does it imply that they entered the country illegally or under false pretenses.  It could simply be that they are waiting on paperwork to process, or they could be technically undocumented during a single instance because they simply do not have the appropriate paperwork on their person.  (Sure, that's a no-no, but really it's no worse of an offense than getting caught driving without your driver license on you, provided you have one and it's not revoked or anything.)

  

The term "immigrant"  is actually interchangeable with the term "emigrant".  Both terms are by definition persons LEGALLY leaving their homeland to pursue a future in a new place.  Generally speaking (and depending upon which dictionary you are reading) both terms also signify persons seeking to relocate to a new country "usually for permanent residence" or in other words SEEKING CITIZENSHIP.   That is, after all, the LEGAL way to immigrate.

On the other hand, the term "alien" is expressly defined in all of the dictionaries I read as a person born in one country but living in another country WITHOUT CITIZENSHIP.  Therefore, by definition, the term "alien" would apply to persons living in the United States under a work visa, student visa, green card, etc.  Not necessarily "illegal" but definitely not citizens, nor in the process of applying for citizenship.  (Can you smell what I'm stepping in here?)

So kiddies, with all this handy new vocabulary you have, you can clearly see where an "ILLEGAL ALIEN" would be a totally different thing from an "UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT".  Right?!? 

Then let's take this a step further.
The term "illegal" is by definition AGAINST THE LAW.  When someone, whether purposefully or not, commits an act that breaks the law that act is "illegal".  (How many ways do I need to put this?)  It seems to me that if you hide in a trunk or stow aboard a ship or in any other manner secret or sneak yourself into a country, you have a pretty damned good idea that what you are doing is illegal.  And what is the term we use to describe you if you do something illegal?

Say it with me now, boys and girls - "CRIMINAL".  Yep, if you commit a CRIME...

crime

   [krahym]

noun

1. an action or an instance of negligence that is deemed injurious to the public welfare or morals or to the interests of the state and that is legally prohibited.

then you will be considered a "CRIMINAL".

crim·i·nal

   [krim-uh-nl]

noun

1. a person guilty or convicted of a crime.

adjective

1. of the nature of or involving crime.

2. guilty of crime.

So, now to put ALL of this together: 

1. If you are an illegal alien, you are BY DEFINITION a criminal. 

2. If you are an illegal alien, you are BY DEFINITION NOT an undocumented immigrant.

 Whew!  I feel better now that we've cleared THAT up!

Let's tackle a couple more...

bail·out

   [beyl-out]

noun

1. the act of parachuting from an aircraft, especially to escape a crash, fire, etc.

2. an instance of coming to the rescue, especially financially: a government bailout of a large company.

3. an alternative, additional choice, or the like: If the highway is jammed, you have two side roads as bailouts.

take·o·ver  [as in corporate takeover]

   [teyk-oh-ver]

noun

1.the act of seizing, appropriating, or arrogating authority, control, management, etc.

2. an acquisition or gaining control of a corporation through the purchase or exchange of stock.

 Heeeeyyyyy.....wait a minute.....isn't the deal with the big corporation bailouts that the government technically becomes part owners?  Even if the big corporations pay the government back?  Correct me if I'm wrong, but won't that enable the government to pass legislation that will affect big corporations in WHICH THEY HAVE OWNERSHIP?  Wouldn't that pretty much mean that the fox was just put in charge of the hen house?  I think there was some broo-ha-ha over that type of nepotism during the Bush administration....something about oil, maybe?

Well, kids, I think that's enough of a lesson for one day.  Next time, we'll talk about Racism and Respect.  And we'll tackle the differences between labels, such as African-American and Mexican-American versus Black American and Hispanic American.  Until then, practice your vocabulary!  There just might be a test!

"Tact is kind; diplomacy is useful; euphemism is harmless and sometimes entertaining. By contrast, doublespeak is dishonest and dangerous."
(Julian Burnside, Word Watching. Thunder's Mouth Press, 2004)