When one thinks of the term ‘alien,’ the mind naturally conjures up the image of a big, green, ugly creature with huge black eyes from an unknown origin. An alien comes from outer space, lands on Earth in a UFO and speaks a language that is not understood by any human. The word implies danger and complete dissociation from human beings. They are strange creatures that should not be messed with. So why, then, does society
Regardless of how someone enters a country, they are still human. Everyone has a mother tongue, with expressions to represent emotions. Everyone has basic human needs of food, water and shelter. Humans all have dreams of education, ambitious careers and making new connections for themselves and relatives. As they develop, culture, beliefs and personality develops with them.
It is true that comparing physical features present variations that can be unfamiliar to all humans,
but the point is they are not strong enough to be innate differences. More importantly, they are not strong enough to validate calling any human an illegal alien.call human beings seeking refuge and full of ambitions illegal aliens?
The legal term ‘illegal alien’ is used to refer to an individual who is living in a country they are not a citizen of without legal permission. The dehumanizing term leads to the implication that an innocent child who crossed a border before they could talk and a notorious gang member who crossed a border to spread violence are of the same status. It disregards sympathy and understanding; it dehumanizes individuals.
It leaves no room for distinction and classifies humans as less than. How can society deem this acceptable? How can a little girl walking to their new school hoping to make friends and understand what the teacher says be described not only as illegal, but as an alien? Not only that, how could that little girl be forced to represent herself in court after being brutally captured and detained by immigration agents?
This scenario seems far fetched, like something from a dystopian society authors write about in books. Unfortunately, it is a direct description of life in the United States today. Under the current administration, children who have no control over their immigration status have been forcefully shoved into trucks and made to represent themselves in federal court.
This inhumane treatment of humans – not ‘illegal aliens’ – needs to stop.