From ‘aliens’ to ‘noncitizens’ – the Biden administration is proposing to change a legal term to recognize the humanity of non-Americans Article Written by Affiliate Kevin Johnson
The Conversation
February 23, 2021
A profound change has been proposed by the Biden
administration for U.S. immigration law. Following up
on candidate Joe Biden’s promise of immigration reform
legislation, the U.S. Citizenship Act would eliminate the term
“alien” from the U.S. immigration laws.
The country’s bedrock immigration law, the Immigration and
Nationality Act, would be amended to say that “[t]he term
‘noncitizen’ means any person not a citizen or national of the
United States.”
Some might think that terminology is not a big deal. But
as a scholar of immigration and civil rights law, I believe
that the one-word change could deeply influence Americans’ views
about the rights of noncitizens and, by so doing, the future
trajectory of immigration law and policy.
