GWU Law Student Gov't Directs People to Stop Saying/Writing "Illegal," "Alien," and "Assimilation" re: Immigration

As you might gather, I don't think serious law schools—including student government groups at such law schools—should be "direct[ing]" faculty, staff, and students not to use certain legal terms, especially when they are parts of statutes, statutory titles current (the Alien Tort Statute) and past (the Alien Act), court opinions, and more. But here I just wanted to present the text of the GW Law Student Bar Association resolution, so readers can decide on it for themselves.

Purpose: To call upon members of The George Washington University and The George Washington University Law School to abstain from using the terms "illegal," "alien," and "assimilation" in internal communications and external correspondence regarding immigration.

WHEREAS: Since 1948, the right to a nationality, the right to change one's nationality, and the right not to be deprived of one's nationality are all universally recognized under international law¹;

WHEREAS: The term "alien" has historically been used throughout U.S. immigration law to refer to individuals who do not have U.S. citizenship and are not a US national²;

WHEREAS: Immigration advocates have long argued that the term "alien" dehumanizes migrants and commonly conjures up images of Martians or Mandalorians that readily lend itself to xenophobic rhetoric³;

WHEREAS: State and municipal governments such as California and New York City have taken steps to remove and replace the word "alien" in long standing legal codes⁴;

WHEREAS: The phrase "illegal alien" has historically been used in US immigration discourse to describe an individual, who is not a US citizen or a US national, and is present within the sovereign territory of the United States in a manner that is not in accordance with the law⁵;