While the word “alien” is still used by the federal government and a wide variety of legal material to describe someone who is neither born nor naturalized in a country, California Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 432 this week to ban the use of the term. The bill was introduced by State Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) not only remove the term from all government documents but also removed the state’s preference for hiring U.S. citizens on public works projects during periods of unemployment.
The bill passed the Senate unanimously. Mendoza insisted that the term is “offensive” and “is now commonly considered a derogatory term for a foreign-born person and has very negative connotations.” The only person to vote against the bill was Assemblyman Matthew Harper (R-Huntington Beach) who insisted that “[t]he negative connotations come from the fact that people are breaking the law. Changing the word won’t change the fact that folks are here illegally.”
What do you think?
emanuelle goldstein at 342.
Roydenoral, your comment as so many others on this story appears to be completely unrelated to the actual bill. The bill at issue merely removed the provision that defined the term “alien” in the California Labor Code because that word was basically removed from the other provisions in that Code back in the 1970s.
One just has to love the People’s Republic of California. Let us see, cannot use the word “alien” but must categorize people according to 6 different genders???? The inmates are running the asylum out there. And just think, we get to bail them out when they finally go broke. Build the wall Donald!
Has anyone seen the walls many European countries have to keep out the illegal aliens? Very impressive.
The bill passed the Senate unanimously.
Who elected these cretins to office?
The change consists of a change in language in the Labor Code only. The word alien was generally removed by amendments made in the 1970s. However, the definition of the term remained. As the definition serves no purpose, this bill cleans up by the Code by removing it. It does not legalize hiring those who are not legally authorized to work in California. The preference provision concerns a statute that establishes preference for California citizens over citizens of other states, and then over aliens. The reference to times of unemployment concerns the provision that requires those provisions to be applied to existing employees in times of unemployment (arguably requiring that an existing employee be fired so that a California citizen could be hired). The entire section was repealed.
“The state has moved to eliminate virtually every distinction between its legal and illegal residents.”
Except for who pays the bills… the legal residents are still on the hook for that.
TinEar:
“CA isn’t interested in keeping illegals out. That’s the point. The state has moved to eliminate virtually every distinction between its legal and illegal residents. How they think this will boost their economy, lower their taxes, improve their educational system or lower their crime rate is beyond me, but obviously they don’t care.”
Yep. It’s true. In this Liberal Stronghold in which I live, our education system is crashing, our social services are over burdened, our jails are so crowded that they just let people out to rob and pillage again, they voted to extend Obamacare to illegal aliens, and they gave drivers licenses to half a million illegal aliens just since the first of the year. They vote for onerous regulations, high taxes, high minimum wage, etc which makes running a business legally very expensive, driving up the costs of goods and services, but then they enable illegal aliens to live and work in the state, and they follow none of those laws.
That is why people who do not live in the Liberal Strongholds of CA wish vehemently that the state would be divided into two. But it will never happen. The highly populated Liberal Strongholds drain the resources of the rural areas, and outvote them so they inflict policies that don’t work in those communities.
I remember a few years ago a Mexican drug cartel hung a female reporter by her entrails. When they illegally cross the border to deliver drugs and murder people, what shall we call them, since “illegal aliens”, is out?
Gov Brown is an idiot.
He can play with semantics all he wants, but people who immigrate here illegally are literally breaking the law, which makes them criminals.
I recently heard a report in the news that although illegal aliens make up a small proportion of the population, 5%, they commit a disproportionate number of crimes – on average 38% of homicides in the 5 states studies.
It’s not offensive; it’s the truth. Unless someone tripped and fell across the border, accidentally, they are an illegal alien. Literally, that’s the definition. It’s a slap in the face to all those around the world who go through our lengthy immigration or visa process.
Every nation has the right and the duty to determine how many, and the qualifications, for immigrants. For instance, no violent criminals or anyone tied to drug cartels or sex trafficking.
These politicians who pander just care about the votes they’ll get when either illegal aliens break another law and vote illegally (as it’s been proven they do) or when they get amnesty and become legal voters. The legal citizens, legal immigrants, and legal visa holders just get thrown under the bus.
Tony:
Sorry Tony, it is still a state in the United States. If the illegals who live here would apply for citizenship, pay taxes, obey the laws and pledge to our government and flag, then I say, make them citizens. We want them here. They can then get off the Govt. dole and carry the same load the American Citizen does. I suggest getting rid of the sanctuary cities, quit paying for their healthcare, and giving welfare, and see if they really want to be part of this country. If they don’t, then they should not have rights over the legal citizens who have been a major part of making the state what it is. Become legal, you are more than welcome, illegal, either go back to your country or apply for citizenship and get in line,. Not becoming legal is not paying their full dues, and probably taking jobs our own citizens could do,. We are undoubtedly helping to pay for their keep. They need to be legal to share in all privileges that the legal citizens have. Even their gangs have rules and laws they have to abide by. We ask no more than that, obey our laws while here and apply for citizenship or leave. The mothers, fathers, aunts and uncles that are illegal I’m sure know right from wrong and know that there usually is a penalty associated with not obeying the laws of the land.
My question, why in all these years have they not applied to become a citizen. I am sure they know CA is located in the U.S………….. They need to be legal and pay their share and share in the privileges of a citizen (voting or having a say in how Govt. is run) or be a guest in a foreign land (for them) and ask for no privileges as guests do not receive such privileges…………….. just my opinion!
NOTE: : I hated the schools in CA., and the smog.
Bruce: Wetback is the only word I heard them called when I lived there. You would probably see the inside of the pokey if you say it now or get a short stay in the hospital for some fancy stitching. Not an advisable. word to use.
When did “Negro” go from being the right word and then become derisive? And why did that happen. Then it was “black” then “Afro American” then “African American.” Malcolm X was the greatest black leader in my lifetime, and he called himself “black.” That’s the only word I will EVER use. No one will change that for me, as an homage to Malcolm. Alien was not derisive @ all until recently. Alien is not a bad word. All PC is about CONTROL. You CONTROL what people should and should not say. That enables you to CONTROL what the can and cannot do. Tony Sidaway must have never read Orwell. Or, he didn’t understand it if he did. These people who come here ILLEGALLY are not “undocumented” they are illegal aliens. MOST are great people and I would love to see a pathway to citizenship, LEGALLY. NO ONE will control my speech. Certainly not Guv Moonbeam.
California would probably fall and die if it had to rely on American-born people alone. It’s not a good idea to tell your most essential citizens that their mothers, fathers, aunts and uncles are “aliens.”
Why is this controversial? Insulting valued assets is a very bad idea.
What do you expect, you are talking about California, a state that has sanctuary cities, illegals serving on City council with the power to throw legal citizens out of a meeting if they object. Why don’t they just ceded from the union. It is time to give Mexico the keys to the state. Half of Mexico lives there anyway. It was horrible when I lived there. I gladly left and haven’t missed a thing about it. From the looks of things, most of its citizens are slowing being burned out. California, the home of arsonists. With January and February being the rainy season, I find it strange that all the fires are blamed on lightning. Apparently its Govt. already thinks it belongs to Mexico since the governor is white washing the documents. That is also what ISIS is doing to all religions they want to wipe from the face of the earth. Glad I moved from there when the smog was so bad it would burn your eyes Good luck to those who are still there.
I wonder if wetback is o.k.?
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the people discover they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the canidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that democracy always collapses over a loose fiscal policy–to be followed by a dictatorship.”
― Alexander Fraser Tytler
———-
Which path is America on considering the status of the collectivist one-party state of California?
It’s Tytler with an exponent – the welfare state crossed international borders and is burgeoning.
TinEar
I am familiar with the old Mongolia nonsense. The indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere were here for thousands of years before the Europeans came. They were fighting and killing each other, forming tribal alignments, etc; all the stuff that was going on in Europe. There were nations composed of tribes that had lived peacefully for generations and loose tribes still slaughtering other loose tribes.
When the Mongolians invaded Europe or when the Muslims invaded Europe it was the same thing. There are those that come later and those that have to move out of the way.
Regarding employment, the intent is to respond to legal immigrants or residents no differently than citizens. From what I have seen, being a citizen alone doesn’t raise the calibre of an individual. It is not to respond to illegal immigrants or undocumented residents or whatever one wishes to call them.
I agree that many in CA do care, as I once did. I am a former 5th generation Californian, educated at U.C., but I left that state at the beginning of my professional career because I could do a lot better elsewhere. The taxes, excessive regulation, cost of housing, crazy politics, all had a part in my decision to leave. I still have relatives there and many fond memories, but will never move back. There are just too many other really nice places to live and prosper without all the nonsense.
Speaking of freedom of speech:
http://www.thenation.com/article/steven-salaita-professor-fired-for-uncivil-tweets-vindicated-in-federal-court/
The court found that Salaita was an employee of the University and that his tweets were protected speech and exactly the kind of speech that the first amendment was designed to protect. His lawsuit against the university continues. Good summary in the article.