Rethinking Immigration: Stop the Alienation of Affection

Angelo Paparelli writes: "Times and phrasings have changed.  We would never refer to people of color today, as "colored" -- the term generally used in the 1950s for African-Americans and other non-Caucasians.  So, "aliens" -- the word -- must go.  We should also drop the term "nonimmigrant" from our statutory lexicon because it defines by negation and suggests an inhospitable negativity.  Call everyone either visitors (entrants who will stay briefly), sojourners (temporary residents) or immigrants (permanent residents), depending on the envisioned length and purpose of their stay.  If the importance of welcoming words seems like over-the-top political correctness, pause before final judgment, and listen to journalist and poet Musa Okwonga performing "the Migrant Manifesto"." - Angelo A. Paparelli, Dec. 16, 2012.