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> Because it is the only case in which "illegal" refers to a status rather than an action [..] a very un-American view of how the law works That's because the
by piaste 10y ago
> Because it is the only case in which "illegal" refers to a status rather than an action [..] a very un-American view of how the law works
That's because the illegal action consists of being in a location where you have no right to be. And it's not, in fact, the only case. Compare it to its close relative, trespassing:
An "illegal resident" is someone living in a country of which they have neither citizenship nor visa.
An "illegal occupant" is someone living in a building of which they have neither possession nor tenancy.
It seems rather straightforward to me. Whether such a view is "un-American" or not I legitimately do not know, not being an American myself. Though I can say that that word doesn't have the proudest of histories, to put it mildly.
- tptacek 10y agoMaciej missed the point I was making, but I'm not going to let the conversation continue to miss it. No. There are young people in the United States who are citizens of this country by right. Children born in the US are citizens. They are not illegal immigrants. There are families that consist overwhelmingly of citizens who happen to have in the fabric of their families people who are here without a visa. Those people aren't causing problems. In fact: they are a benefit to our economy --- according to the overwhelming consensus of economists both left and right. Trump proposes to hunt those people down and deport them, solely to satiate the race-tinged fears of people who Trump himself has helped impoverish.
- piaste 10y ago> No. There are young people in the United States who are citizens of this country by right. Children born in the US are citizens. They are not illegal immigrants. Yes, of course, but those are definitely not the people I was talking about. If someone is referring to legal citizens as illegal immigrants, that's wrong and they should stop. As for the rest of your comment, I will politely decline to respond. I wasn't trying to start a discussion over what would be a fair or sensible immigration policy - that could never fit inside a HN thread. I was only objecting to idlewords's assertion that it is inherently wrong to describe someone as "illegal".