Immigration Judges Forbidden to Use the Word ‘Alien’
They can’t complete cases, and they should not be forced to use the wrong words
By Andrew R. Arthur on July 27, 2021
In January I analyzed the Biden administration’s plans to alter the terminology used to refer to “aliens”. Those changes are now being imposed on the nation’s 539 immigration judges (IJs) and the 28 members of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). It is a problematic move, because their job is to apply the law, and the main word they are now all-but forbidden to use — “alien” — is the law. The courts should really focus on issuing more decisions, a task they are struggling to accomplish.
On July 23, Jean King, Acting Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) — the DOJ entity that oversees the immigration courts and the BIA — issued Policy Memorandum (PM) 21-27. It “directs EOIR staff, including adjudicators, to use language that is ‘consistent with our character as a Nation of opportunity and of welcome.’” [Internal brackets omitted.]
The quote within that quote comes from section 1 of Executive Order (EO) 14012, issued by President Biden on February 2 and captioned “Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans”.
https://cis.org/Arthur/Immigration-Judges-Forbidden-Use-Word-Alien
