I am NOT an "illegal"

“Illegals,” people are called on a daily basis, and most people do not realize that this word is completely misused. In the United States, the only human beings ever called like this are “illegal immigrants.” 

This post is not meant to attack or defend anyone; I am simply trying to spread knowledge. I don't think I can ask anyone to stop calling me an "illegal," because I understand the argument of "freedom of speech," which I completely respect. I am however, asking people to educate themselves before they say that word again. This is just a little research I did, as well as some things  that I see in my everyday life: 

           America has always had immigrants; in fact, when America was founded, immigration was highly encouraged. America was rapidly growing and the demand for laborers was extremely high and since the English people could not meet such demands, they opted to bring African slaves. Agriculture, the discovery of gold, and the industrial revolution raised the demand for more labor workers, so America received immigrants from all over the world. Then, when America became a power, more and more people immigrated into the country without being “welcomed,” and after each war, each battle, and each economic crisis the country was involved in, there was a great demand for the elimination of such immigrants. This demand increased in the 1950’s when the country feared a potential rise of communism, and by this time, there were several laws that limited immigration in America. These laws included the Chinese Exclusion Act, which created the border control as well as the category of “illegal immigrant”, the Quota Act, which encouraged immigration from some countries and limited immigration from certain others, and the Operation Wetback program, which resulted in the deportation of not only undocumented people, but also permanent residents and even citizens. These acts not only limited immigration, they were also an open gate to racism, hostility, and violence against these groups. By this time, the word “illegal,” when referring to a person, was not only accepted, but also encouraged. Although the term “illegal immigrant” is commonly used in the English language to refer to a person who entered the country without proper documentation, it is currently used by society not only to describe a person’s unlawful action, but also to offend, humiliate, and degrade that person.

           Never in the history of America, has any group of people been called “illegal” regardless of their actions, whether righteous, unlawful, or perhaps horrible actions committed; therefore, calling someone “illegal” is incorrect. When the settlers arrived to America, they committed genocide by almost wiping out the Native Americans from the face of the earth. Not once they were called “illegal murderers.” In fact, they all arrived to the country without the permission of the people who already inhabited the land, and again, not once they have been called “illegal immigrants.” Furthermore, at one point in history, slavery was legal. These slaves were treated inhumanely; they were forced to work long hours, without proper attire, without being fed or hydrated, and they were beaten up and sometimes killed for a very small or no reason at all. Some slaves escaped and once they reached freedom, they were not called “illegal freed slaves,” they were simply called “freed slaves.” In today’s society, if someone is driving under the influence, that person is called “drunk driver” not “illegal driver,” or if a person kills another, that person is called simply a “murderer,” not an “illegal murderer.” Additionally, the terms “illegal rapist,” “illegal terrorists,” or “illegal child molesters” are never used; even though they are all heinous crimes, those people are simply called “rapists,” “terrorists,” or “child molesters.” The word does not simply describes the status of someone in a country, it also carries several negative connotations, connotations that are happily adopted by those who refuse to see that such term is incorrectly used.

           I am open to logical arguments and criticism; however, if your response to this is something like “illegal immigrants” have no civil rights because they are “illegal immigrants” or “illegal immigrants” should not be legalized because they are “illegal,” please avoid the embarrassment that you will encounter by saying such illogical comment.

If no other human being is being called “illegal”, then it is not correct to call immigrants “illegals”, whether they entered the country illegally or not. The term “illegal” when referring to a person is incorrect and offensive. In case of this term being correct, then everyone who has ever driven underage, plagiarized a paper, or downloaded music without paying for it, should be called “illegal” as well.