WT
“I hope no one uses the term ‘illegal immigrant’ here today”
Opening the first immigration hearing of the new Congress, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee warned his colleagues not to use the term “illegal immigrant” as the debate goes on.
“I hope no one uses the term illegal immigrants here today. Our citizens are not — the people in this country are not illegal. They are are out of status. They are new Americans that are immigrants,” said Rep. John Conyers Jr., Michigan Democrat.
As Congress begins the immigration debate, both sides are preparing for an emotionally charged fight, and language will be one of the battlegrounds.
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That would be my cue to use it as often as possible.
farsighted on February 5, 2013 at 5:13 PM
What the F!?
I wish the IRS was as forgiving!
Dongemaharu on February 5, 2013 at 5:14 PM
Amazing But True: the speaker in question was not Juan McCain!
Kent18 on February 5, 2013 at 5:15 PM
Okay, let’s just call them criminals.
Blake on February 5, 2013 at 5:15 PM
Quite correct – they are illegal aliens!
OldEnglish on February 5, 2013 at 5:17 PM
They’re called illegal aliens, not illegal immigrants.
FloatingRock on February 5, 2013 at 5:17 PM
I prefer criminal foreign nationals. Or simply criminal aliens.
CorporatePiggy on February 5, 2013 at 5:17 PM
How about drains on society?
katiejane on February 5, 2013 at 5:17 PM
I NEVER use that word ‘illegal immigrant’ I use ‘ILLEGAL alien. Not native or using the law of our nation to BE HERE!
HOW’s that?
L
letget on February 5, 2013 at 5:17 PM
That covers waay too much ground.
OldEnglish on February 5, 2013 at 5:18 PM
This dummy should replace Hagel.
Schadenfreude on February 5, 2013 at 5:19 PM
Dumbass almost called illegal immigrants “citizens”. He caught himself a micosecond before he did.
farsighted on February 5, 2013 at 5:20 PM
Full Orwell – Ignorance is Strength.
VorDaj on February 5, 2013 at 5:20 PM
Is there some kind of rule/s in the House and Senate where members can’t address nonsense like this? I watch C-span sometimes and they are always working from scripts instead of spontaneous and contemporaneous responses.
arnold ziffel on February 5, 2013 at 5:20 PM
Actually, I prefer the terms ‘illegal aliens’ or ‘wetbacks’.
annoyinglittletwerp on February 5, 2013 at 5:20 PM
Uh, they immigrated here illegally. What the hell else does that make them?
Doughboy on February 5, 2013 at 5:20 PM
Impossible to differentiate any of ‘em from the sitting First Lady, that way.
Kent18 on February 5, 2013 at 5:21 PM
^ I should add, not many are ‘native’ to our nation, but most in the past/present have done the right/correct thing to be American’s.
I think many might slam me for my previous post?
L
letget on February 5, 2013 at 5:21 PM
How about ‘wetbacks’?
annoyinglittletwerp on February 5, 2013 at 5:22 PM
The left continues their Orwellian attacks on our language. The continual barrage of what can and can’t be said is head shakingly stunning. Yeah, I may have made up a word, sue me.
Oh, and illegal immigrant! illegal immigrant! illegal immigrant! you cowards in Congress!
Fallon on February 5, 2013 at 5:22 PM
Quit censoring me you fascists!..please.
annoyinglittletwerp on February 5, 2013 at 5:23 PM
Can they use the “Good and Plenty” clause in the Constitution?
Mitoch55 on February 5, 2013 at 5:25 PM
Apparently Conyers thinks it is impossible to enter the US illegally. Apparently it is impossible to be physically present within US borders illegally.
farsighted on February 5, 2013 at 5:26 PM
Boy, I can see that one of the most corrupt senators in the country is also politically correctly stupid. Can we complain to the ethics committee that he is defrauding the taxpayers of this country by limiting speech before the committee he controls. If there were any republicans with balls (an oxymoron in this case) on the committee they should use the forbidden term every chance they get. And I apologize for implying the ethics committee would have any interest in this, since they are a branch of the DNC as is the main stream media, and are more crooked and political than conyers.
Old Country Boy on February 5, 2013 at 5:26 PM
Speaking of illegal aliens, Cantor says he supports anchor babies.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/02/05/Cantor-Children-of-Illegal-Immigrants-Should-Get-Citizenship
FloatingRock on February 5, 2013 at 5:27 PM
HotAirian on February 5, 2013 at 5:27 PM
Not citizens, but illegal aliens. Illegal aliens Illegal aliens Illegal aliens Illegal aliens Illegal aliens Illegal aliens Illegal aliens Illegal aliens.
rbj on February 5, 2013 at 5:27 PM
@Blake: One man’s criminal is another man’s avenger of Chapultepec.
Seth Halpern on February 5, 2013 at 5:29 PM
rbj on February 5, 2013 at 5:27 PM
I prefer a different term, one that rhymes with ‘bet whacks’-hence my cry of censorship in my last comment.
annoyinglittletwerp on February 5, 2013 at 5:31 PM
When talking about illegal immigrants, I often think about why illegal immigrants Illegally migrate across the border……. Illegally, thus making them illegal immigrants. illegal immigrant illegal immigrant illegal immigrant illegal immigrant illegal immigrant illegal immigrant illegal immigrant illegal immigrant illegal immigrant.
ThePrez on February 5, 2013 at 5:31 PM
They are illegal until they aren’t. If I tried the same S**t in Mexico they’d lock me up.
reddevil on February 5, 2013 at 5:32 PM
I wonder if I should just walk into his hearing room without I.D. and see what he says.
ThePrez on February 5, 2013 at 5:34 PM
bahaha, he can’t call them “citizens.” because they really are not!
if they are not illegal then that means they are here legally. which isn’t true, so… yes they are illegal, and you just blatantly lied.
AND WHAT KIND OF “STATUS” WOULD THAT BE, MAY I ASK??
*facepalm* he says he doesn’t want children to be punished for the mistakes of their parents, but he should realize that not giving the children something they shouldn’t have in the first place is not a “punishment.”
Sachiko on February 5, 2013 at 5:37 PM
I guess it is not illegal to avoid US border crossings and checkpoints. Anyone can cross the US border and enter the country anywhere they want. It’s not illegal to do that. It’s not against the law, because it’s not illegal. Who knew? I did not know that. But it seems John Conyers and millions of Mexican nationals knew.
No need to bother building a fence on the border. It’s not illegal to climb over it, apparently.
farsighted on February 5, 2013 at 5:39 PM
Maybe Conyers would like something a little less innocuous, like “casually disoriented world travelers”.
antipc on February 5, 2013 at 5:40 PM
On the plus side, he illustrated why we might want to keep using language to remind us that they’re not citizens… by, say, using phrases like “illegal immigrants.”
calbear on February 5, 2013 at 5:41 PM
OK,
How about “drug mules”.
How about “ID” theft camandos.
How about “Run from Wrecks .com”
APACHEWHOKNOWS on February 5, 2013 at 5:41 PM
Is Conyers’ wife out of prison yet?
forest on February 5, 2013 at 5:42 PM
or
Santa Anna’s revenge of dole munchers.
APACHEWHOKNOWS on February 5, 2013 at 5:44 PM
Leading from behind the illegal crossing.
APACHEWHOKNOWS on February 5, 2013 at 5:46 PM
Well at least we will get to have a new National Holliday.
“Day of Death”
APACHEWHOKNOWS on February 5, 2013 at 5:47 PM
How about, “Criminals, like John Conyer’s wife?”
besser tot als rot on February 5, 2013 at 5:48 PM
Conyers has discovered a loophole. You can become an “American” just by walking over the border wherever you want. And you will not be an “illegal” immigrant. You will be an a legal American immigrant, apparently.
Amazing.
Conyers is as stupid as a bag of hammers. Yet he is “the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee”. Anyone trying to find a place to start determining what is wrong with the US and why it is circling the sewer can start with him.
farsighted on February 5, 2013 at 5:49 PM
Conyers? He and his wife represent the Progressive Utopia of Detroit quite well, I’d say.
visions on February 5, 2013 at 5:51 PM
Well, “out of status” implies that the law does not deal with their status. But it does. And they have arrived here illegally. So, since they are foreign nationals, i.e., aliens, their status is “illegal alien.”
besser tot als rot on February 5, 2013 at 5:52 PM
Then we can’t put people with children in prison. Cantor should demand they all be released on the grounds that it’s not fair to the children to punish them by separating them from their parents.
FloatingRock on February 5, 2013 at 5:52 PM
illegal immigrants illegal immigrants illegal immigrants illegal immigrants illegal immigrants illegal immigrants illegal immigrants illegal immigrants
illegal immigrants illegal immigrants
petefrt on February 5, 2013 at 5:52 PM
No, you walk across the border and you are “without status.” Because we have no immigration laws, evidently.
besser tot als rot on February 5, 2013 at 5:53 PM
Not only are they illegal aliens, but if amnesty goes through all that will do is make them ex-illegal aliens. You can’t change change the recording of history, but you can’t change history. They will always be ex-illegal aliens.
Dusty on February 5, 2013 at 5:54 PM
I look fondly back on the music of the ’80s. Hey, remember that song by Genesis, “It’s no fun being an out of status people“?
rihar on February 5, 2013 at 5:54 PM
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