There are Aliens in the United States?? Illegal Aliens…What is that?
In reading the article “Another World for ‘Illegal Alien’ at the Library of Congress: Contentious” by Jasmine Aguilera, I have become quite puzzled by the constant criticism and controversy that the changing the label or subject heading of “illegal alien”. The term “illegal aliens” is a label that refers to people who are not American citizens, but are in America. But before we go into how wrong and disturbing this title it is, we need to discuss subject headings and how it is used in libraries.
What are Subject headings? They are key words that are used to categorize various sources, so they are easier to find within libraries and databases. Subject headings are usually widely agreed upon and creates a system that makes materials are more accessible to all people that want to use them. Librarians are able use subject headings to help researchers find the material they want.
This label of “illegal alien” is often used incorrectly and indiscriminately used to describe Mexican people, refugees, and many non-citizens. “Illegal alien” has a negative connotations and suggests that certain people are not human and just too different. It is too often that the media and politicians has used this title to demean and stereotype certain individuals. It is also interesting that even when a person is naturalized that are still referred to as by that old status of an immigrant or even referenced to by their parents status as non-American citizen. This is not okay, and I think the Library of Congress should make the changes on the term on the basis that it is outdated, is riddle with negative connotations and it is demeaning. Also the Library of Congress is symbol of how all libraries throughout the U.S. should be; thus, they should be held to a higher standard.
Aguilera mentions within her article that congress and politicians usually do not intervene in the process of updating names and titles within the Library of Congress. With the label of “Negro”, there was not intervention which also has a lot negative connotation and stigma surrounding it. This leads to the question as to why politicians feels the need to intervene in this case. Some conservative politicians say because it is a legal term. That does not seem to be a good enough explanation to me. It seems like these politicians are trying to conserve and keep stereotypes alive and hold onto xenophobic prejudices. What do you think?
The line that sums up my opinion on this label comes from Texas Democrat and Representative Joaquin Castro, and he says, “Even if [Illegal Aliens] aren’t American, they are still human beings and should be respected as human beings.” It is other ways to refer to people without demeaning them, and there needs to be proper actions to do so. Some of these supposedly “illegal aliens” will become American citizens, and even with without the status of being an American citizen, they should be treated with respect. And for the government to intervene and overrule the subjecting-heading decision does not present America as being receptive of non-Americans. If we as Americans cannot respect people on the basis of being of human, what does that say about us as a country?
Aberjhani, a great literary scholar, says, “Diversity is an aspect of human existence that cannot be eradicated by terrorism or war or self-consuming hatred. It can only be conquered by recognizing and claiming the wealth of values it represents for all”, and this relates to blog in that we should be more receptive to all people no matter how different they appear. There are far less differences than similarities. We are all humans and need the basic necessities to survive and all want to accepted for who we are.
