H.Res. 155 — Introduced in House

IV 113th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 155 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 12, 2013 Mr. Rush submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Expressing the necessity for the Members of the House of Representatives to use the term undocumented instead of the term illegal when referring to foreign nationals which are working in the United States without proper documentation. Whereas the term(s) or phrase undocumented immigrant, non citizen, or people here in violation of the immigration laws should be used instead of illegal alien when referring to persons who reside in the United States without proper documentation; Whereas there are an estimated eleven million people residing in the United States without legal permission, the acts of these people may be illegal but they themselves are not illegal; Whereas the use of the term is included in Public Law 104–208, Division C Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996; Whereas the term illegal alien may cause negative sentiments toward the targeted population, it is our responsibility to encourage a national dialogue that is respectful of humanity and frame a debate that is productive and free of terms that label a person's status as illegal or creates a negative connotation and ill will towards that person; Whereas all parties have expressed a desire for comprehensive immigration reform; Whereas the use of the term has caused delay in the negotiations of immigration reform; and Whereas it would give us the opportunity to move forward in the process of revising United States immigration laws with a universal term: Now, therefore, be it That— (1) Members of the House of Representatives no longer use the term Illegal Immigrant because no human being is illegal; (2) human beings need to be central in immigration discussions in order to move toward a more civilized and humane tone in public discourse and policies on immigration; and (3) foreign nationals, undocumented immigrant, unauthorized immigrant, immigrant without papers and immigrant seeking status are examples of terms we can use that do not dehumanize people. We can all stop unintentionally fueling racial profiling and violence directed toward immigrants, when we drop the word illegal when discussing a human being.