The Biden administration’s decision to inject the preferred language of amnesty advocates into official government parlance has forced the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into linguistic gymnastics in an attempt to comply.
For example, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) then-Acting Director Tracy Renaud issued a memorandum in February banning the statutory word "alien" (defined as “any person not a citizen or national of the United States”) and replacing it with “noncitizen”. Her memo is forced to acknowledge the obvious fact that “alien” and “noncitizen” are not interchangeable under our immigration laws by writing that the guidance “does not affect legal, policy or other operational documents, including forms, where using terms (i.e., applicant, petitioner, etc.) as defined by the INA would be the most appropriate." Further clarification is buried in a footnote that reads, “Use noncitizen except when citing statute or regulation, or in a Form I-862, Notice to Appear, or Form I-863, Notice of Referral to Immigration Judge."
The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) press office in the Laredo, Texas, border sector seems to be having some fun with the immigration newspeak. In a June 4 press release titled, “Laredo Sector Border Patrol Arrested Undocumented Individuals with Fake Documents”, we learned that in four separate incidents a total of eight illegal aliens presented a total of 11 fraudulent documents. A September 15 press release similarly titled “Laredo Sector Border Patrol Arrested Undocumented Individuals with Fraudulent Documents” reveals that “agents discovered three undocumented individuals who presented fraudulent U.S. passport cards.” Neither press release explains how CBP was able to identify the name, age, and country of origin of these apprehended illegal aliens. But if each was in possession of legal identity documents from their home countries, that would amount to at least 25 total documents.
The latest CBP press release iteration, published October 26, was entitled “Laredo Sector Border Patrol arrest undocumented individuals with fraudulent documents”. This time we learn that on October 24 during an immigration inspection aboard a commercial passenger bus, two Mexican nationals “who were found to be in the country illegally” presented Border Patrol agents with fraudulent U.S. passport cards. Again, details of how CBP properly identified the illegal aliens are omitted, but if they had at least one legitimate identification document, that would bring the total to 29 documents combined (fraudulent and real) between these enforcement efforts against “undocumented” aliens.
But the most notable part of the recent press release is what has been removed from it compared to the previous iterations. The brevity of the October 26 press release is due to the cutting of the following:
The use of fraudulent documents is another tactic that criminal organizations use to take advantage of those who they seek to exploit knowing they will be caught by the keen eyes of agents. Agents remain vigilant while performing their official duties, enabling legitimate trade and travel through checkpoints.
The absence of this language is intentional, which raises a number of questions:
- Are criminal organizations no longer using fraudulent documents as a tactic to take advantage of those they seek to exploit?
- Are agents no longer remaining vigilant while performing their official duties?
- Are Biden political appointees so averse to immigration enforcement that they directed the removal of this language?
- Is anyone more documented than an “undocumented” alien?