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Old 02-22-2008, 09:38 AM   #27
DanaC
We have to go back, Kate!
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 25,964
Semantics are not unimportant. Words have power. The point is that 'illegal alien' reinforces their otherness rather than their illegality. It reduces them as people to 'aliens'. 'Illegal immigrant' emphasises the illegal act rather than their otherness, it focuses on what they've done rather than what they are.
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