[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 155 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 155

       Expressing the necessity for the Members of the House of 
 Representatives to use the term ``undocumented'' instead of the term 
 ``illegal'' when referring to foreign nationals which are working in 
            the United States without proper documentation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 12, 2013

Mr. Rush submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
       Expressing the necessity for the Members of the House of 
 Representatives to use the term ``undocumented'' instead of the term 
 ``illegal'' when referring to foreign nationals which are working in 
            the United States without proper documentation.

Whereas the term(s) or phrase ``undocumented immigrant, non citizen, or people 
        here in violation of the immigration laws'' should be used instead of 
        ``illegal alien'' when referring to persons who reside in the United 
        States without proper documentation;
Whereas there are an estimated eleven million people residing in the United 
        States without legal permission, the acts of these people may be illegal 
        but they themselves are not illegal;
Whereas the use of the term is included in Public Law 104-208, Division C 
        ``Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996'';
Whereas the term ``illegal alien'' may cause negative sentiments toward the 
        targeted population, it is our responsibility to encourage a national 
        dialogue that is respectful of humanity and frame a debate that is 
        productive and free of terms that label a person's status as illegal or 
        creates a negative connotation and ill will towards that person;
Whereas all parties have expressed a desire for comprehensive immigration 
        reform;
Whereas the use of the term has caused delay in the negotiations of immigration 
        reform; and
Whereas it would give us the opportunity to move forward in the process of 
        revising United States immigration laws with a universal term: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) Members of the House of Representatives no longer use 
        the term ``Illegal Immigrant'' because no human being is 
        illegal;
            (2) human beings need to be central in immigration 
        discussions in order to move toward a more civilized and humane 
        tone in public discourse and policies on immigration; and
            (3) foreign nationals, undocumented immigrant, unauthorized 
        immigrant, immigrant without papers and immigrant seeking 
        status are examples of terms we can use that do not dehumanize 
        people. We can all stop unintentionally fueling racial 
        profiling and violence directed toward immigrants, when we drop 
        the word ``illegal'' when discussing a human being.
                                 <all>