This week, the State Department decided to minimize the illegality of immigrants crossing into the United States improperly, terming the action “irregular migration” instead of “illegal immigration.”
At a press briefing Tuesday, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Jalina Porter started by providing two updates. The first revolved around the expansion of the Central American Minors program, which provides Guatemalan, Honduran, or Salvadoran children access to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
Porter stated, “As we continue to develop and expand initiatives that provide a safe, legal, and orderly alternative to dangerous irregular migration, we are announcing today the second phase of the CAM reopening that will expand the ability of tens of thousands of U.S.-based individuals to petition for children to access the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program through CAM.”
“Petitioner eligibility will now be extended to legal guardians, in addition to parents, who are lawfully present in the United States,” she continued. “This expansion will also allow certain parents and legal guardians who have a pending asylum application or a pending U visa petition, filed prior to May 15th, 2021, the ability to reunite with their children. This is just one component of the President’s multi-pronged approach to address the challenges of irregular migration through and from Central America.”
Current verbiage from leftist media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Politico has eschewed using the term “illegal” when referring to immigrants who cross the border illegally; terms such as “undocumented immigrants” are frequently used. For example, this is from The New York Times on March 22, 2021:
For most of the past few decades, the Democratic Party had a pretty clear stance on immigration. It favored a mix of enforcement (like border security and the deportation of undocumented immigrants who committed serious crimes) and new pro-immigrant laws (like an increase in legal immigration and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented people).
The Washington Post, April 5, 2021:
After President Donald Trump took office in 2017, at least 70 undocumented immigrants, most facing final deportation orders and an administration determined to enforce them, sought sanctuary in churches across the country …
Politico, February 8, 2021:
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said in an interview that there was confusion about what the amendment did and lamented having only 60 seconds to debate it due to the rapid-fire pace of the votes. He worries that approval of that amendment in the final bill could stop checks from going to spouses or children of undocumented immigrants currently in line to receive them.
Former President Barack Obama used the term “undocumented immigrants” during his term as president in 2014. As far back as 2005, then-senator Obama used the term “undocumented” when referring to immigrants, albeit in a far different way than became omnipresent in the media during his administration. Speaking at a press conference, he said, “We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, unchecked, and circumventing the line of people who are waiting patiently, diligently, and lawfully to become immigrants in this country.”
Thirteen years later, former President Trump shared a clip of Obama’s 2005 statement, then pointed out, “I agree with President Obama 100%!”
The Washington Post countered Trump by stating he did not quote Obama’s full remarks.