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California to replace the word 'alien' from its laws
This is a good move by California
Link to tweet
. -- California will strike the word “alien” from its state laws, getting rid of what Gov. Gavin Newsom called “an offensive term for a human being” that has “fueled a divisive and hurtful narrative.”
Newsom on Friday signed a law that removes the word from various sections of the California state code. California passed laws in 2015 and 2016 that removed the word from the state's labor and education code.
But the law Newsom signed on Friday finishes the job by removing the word from all state laws. The word will be replaced with terms like “noncitizen” or “immigrant.”
“By changing this term, we are ensuring California’s laws reflect our state’s values,” Newsom said.
The federal government has used the term “alien” to describe people in the U.S. who are not citizens since at least 1798 with the passage of the “Aliens and Sedition Acts.” But Assemblywoman Luz Rivas, a Democrat from Arleta, said the word “has become weaponized and has been used in place of explicitly racial slurs to dehumanize immigrants.”
Newsom on Friday signed a law that removes the word from various sections of the California state code. California passed laws in 2015 and 2016 that removed the word from the state's labor and education code.
But the law Newsom signed on Friday finishes the job by removing the word from all state laws. The word will be replaced with terms like “noncitizen” or “immigrant.”
“By changing this term, we are ensuring California’s laws reflect our state’s values,” Newsom said.
The federal government has used the term “alien” to describe people in the U.S. who are not citizens since at least 1798 with the passage of the “Aliens and Sedition Acts.” But Assemblywoman Luz Rivas, a Democrat from Arleta, said the word “has become weaponized and has been used in place of explicitly racial slurs to dehumanize immigrants.”