Council Member Francisco Moya at the virtual city council hearing (Twitter)
May 29, 2020 By Allie Griffin
The City Council voted to axe the terms “alien” and “illegal immigrant” from all official city documents, laws and rules Thursday.
The terms are offensive and discriminatory toward undocumented immigrants, said Elmhurst Council Member Francisco Moya, who introduced the bill in January.
The term to replace the phrases will now be “noncitizen.”
“No human being is illegal,” Moya said. “‘Illegal immigrant’ and ‘alien’ are dehumanizing and divisive and they don’t belong our city’s guiding documents.”
Council Speaker Corey Johnson praised the bill’s 46-4 vote. He said New York City is the first city to end the use of the terms in their official documents.
BREAKING: New York City just became the first major U.S. city to prohibit the use of the dehumanizing and offensive term “alien” in local laws, rules, and documents. From now on, the term will be “noncitizen.”
— NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson (@NYCSpeakerCoJo) May 28, 2020
Four council members voted against the bill, including Glendale Council Member Robert Holden.
“It’s like the speech police is out again,” Holden told the New York Post. “Alien is a term used for someone who is from another area, another land. That’s a term used in Congress and in the government.”
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33 Comments
The term illegal immigrant is not offensive or divisive. It is the law of the United States that immigrants must come here legally. Any person born outside of the country that does not have a temporary work visa, and
has not applied for a green card to reside in the United
States is considered an illegal/undocumented immigrant.
The law does not matter to Democratic politicians in New York City. It is an outrage that the City Council passed this bill. The term “noncitizen” should only apply to immigrants legally residing in the United States.
As long as Democratic politicians continue to pander to immigrants who cross the border illegally, the United States will continue to go downhill. They now have more rights than immigrants who go through the process and reside legally in the United States.
wow Heather, not one upvote, but 100 downvotes. its hilarious that you think anyone would support your liberal agenda.
Contracts are one thing and that’s great you value them… But it’s all about power and the radical left communists stealing votes regardless of what contract the illegals signed. It’s being funded by George Soros.
Contracts were never mentioned. They are official city documents. If you scroll up it’s in the title and the first sentence.
Other than that…it’s totally the radical left communists illegals George Soros!
This is incredible. These politicians are being paid by the taxpayers who reside here legally and who expect them to work for them. But in reality all they want to benefit is illegal immigrants. If the government no longer works for its people, it is to vote it out.
Liberalism is a real thing, it is a political philosophy, look it up. Did you mean to say “muh libruls?”
He pretended Mexico would make a “one-time” payment for the wall. That was a lie.
4 years later: he hasn’t done a single thing. Deportations are down.
So maybe it’s time for some nuance in language.
This is how the radical left get votes.
They’re still explicitly NOT a citizen on all official public documents. It’s in the first sentence. ?♂️
Him and his ilk want to create a city void of middle class/ working all you’ll have is the wealthy and the welfare types.
The hostility against blk and brown people from whites needs to stop. in NYC.
Permanent tourist…..houseguest who won’t leave…..
The city needs to press charges agaisnt the entitled white woman at central park, her behavior was disgusting. White people also threaten and make false reports about undocumented immigrants in this city.
First step is to legitimize these law breakers, next step legalize them. These city council extremists are just as bad as Donald Trump on the other side.
There are noncitizens who are here legally and noncitizens who are not. How do they propose to distinguish the two?
The progressives are in for a long hot summer of increased crime.
Many Republicans use Liberalism as an approach to government policy. Some of them were presidents.
You don’t have any idea what that word means, another very stable genius. Sad!
I prefer foreign object that would hopefully not draw any ire from the PC gang.
What’s next. Convicts will be called guests of the state? Illegal is illegal. The reason NY is in the shape it is totally because of illegals. Not intentional but they have to work, no other option because they don’t get stimulus payment. Stop inviting illegals if you cannot take care of them. Those poor people think everything will be great because NY wants to get illegals to do cheap labor for them. It’s a chain reaction, NY allows crazy prices for everything, then invites illegals to work for cheap because union work is expensive and mostly ripoff. Then they leave them to die. Illegals DI NOT CARE about beihg called alien as long as you can out food in their tables.
Btw… holy moly how did those comments get 5000 up votes?
We have some seriously deranged and stupid city councilmen – in addition to the totally incompetent mayor and granny killing governor – wrecking our sense of community, our sense of right and wrong, and our sense of the truth. Most of these guys could not run a lemonade stand. It’s a pity we don’t have a recall mechanism and that this is a one party town. Absolutely power corrupts absolutely.
They can call them what ever they want to fit their twisted narrative. The fact remains, they still entered the country ILLEGALLY.
Agreed, we’ve seen record immigration under Trump. Someone should really make American great again or something.
More ideological obfuscation through gibberish gerrymandering of diction to move the goal posts to prevent objective debate and discussion. Federal immigration is the law, changing the language you use locally to prevent recognition or seeking disguise won’t change what is an illegal activity under the Law of the land.
Alien? Look man! I only need to know one thing – where they are.
Calling a pig Pig is offensive too but it is what it is .
Are we going to change names for a thief & a liar & a murderer ??
Come on now .
I hope Robert Holden runs for mayor. He seems to be the least crazy person on the New York City council.
You enter the country illegally or overstay your visa, you are breaking the law. Fact.
“Ilegal alien” is therefore an accurate term no matter how cynical politicians and delusional leftist radicals want to spin it.
This is not precise. A person can be a legal resident without being a citizen. The non-citizen group include legal residents and undocumented people. The
umbrella term ‘non-citizen’ obscures this.
I’m all for immigration but I fail to see any reason to sneak into a country.
Is easy to judge that decision, but we don’t know what is behind.
Maybe his parents had the stigma of being illegal. And he grew up feeling non-welcomed.
Many of our representatives are in that situation.
Polititian class is changing. They do not belong to “well-known” families anymore. People is voting for dreamers, asylum seekers, kids of illegals… few “new yorker descendant of new yorkers”.
No surprise.
He said Mexico would make a “one-time payment” for the wall. Complete lie.
He said he’d “cancel all funding of sanctuary cities,” complete lie.
You fell for it…now you want to complain about what you caused?
Drug dealers are also now to be officially designated “undocumented pharmacists”, shoplifters now are considered “undocumented buyers” and bank robbers are simply “persons making an undocumented withdrawl.”
Budget deficits are now officially referred to as “surplusses” parking tickets are now to be called “lollipops” and Bill de Blasio must be referred to as “competent mayor.”
The words illegal alien are used in the court system to describe people who entered the U.S. illegal. More nonsense from the liberal city council.