President Biden is already enforcing his decency

CNNโs Catherine Shoichet reported that in his first full day in office, President Biden made it known that he wants to remove the insensate word โalienโ from the countryโs immigration laws. The new term would be โnoncitizen.โ Words matter, just as how we treat others matters. How we treat noncitizens says a lot about who we are as a nation, although many on the right donโt consider treating others with dignity and respect to be essential values. We are, in fact, a nation of immigrants; most of us donโt have roots here that go back terribly far. Weโre also a nation built on largely stolen land, so itโs quite disingenuous to call those who come here seeking better situations โillegal aliens.โ
The use of โnoncitizenโ is inclusive and humane. No matter where one stands on immigration issues, one thing we should be able to agree on is empathetic, compassionate terminology. Of course, weโve just emerged from four heinous years of anti-immigrant policies and inappropriate rhetoric used as weapons against noncitizens, so one can just imagine the eye-rolling in right-wing circles. But regardless of what the backwards Republicans think, weโd do right to move ahead with this change in how we refer to noncitizens.
We already see more civil discourse with the new administration, which will no doubt be a competent and benevolent one. The theocrats and right-wing politicians will continue to be uncivil and coarse in their behaviors, but those of us on the left can be better than that. We donโt need to dehumanize noncitizens, and it certainly takes little effort to change our heretofore callous wording.
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