Defending Language around Migration

The Trump Administration's redefining of terms around immigration

Last week the Trump administration admitted a group of white Afrikaner South Africans they are calling “refugees.” These families will be given a place to live, food, clothing, financial support and a fast track to US citizenship. My church, calling this an abuse of the refugee system, ended our forty year partnership with the US government.

Part of what is at stake is language. The Trump administration is seeking to re-define. If we let the president set the terms of the debate, he can radically remake our policies and our fundamental commitments as a nation by re-making our definitions. Words matter, and the Trump administration knows it. Their radical redefinition of the word refugee is about far more than the Afrikaners they’ve admitted.

The Trump administration has admitted white Afrikaners as refugees, while refusing the entry of thousands of potential refugees including Afghanis who cooperated with US troops during the war, Central Americans fleeing the violence of the cartels, and Christians fleeing persecution based on faith. This raises a fundamental question, is the president “rewarding” refugee status only to a certain race or political demographic because he thinks it will help him? Is refugee status another prize to be won for those who best fit Trump’s worldview? Is that how our president defines the term?

What do we mean by the word “refugee?”

The modern legal definition of “refugee” was set in the aftermath of the Second World War. A refugee is someone who cannot safely return home, because of who they are or what they believe.

This basic legal definition formed the bedrock of the US refugee system for decades. People who wished to become refugees in the United States often applied for the status from refugee camps in third countries, or from where they were internally displaced in their home countries. The United States Refugee Admissions Program performed extensive background checks and vetting on applicants before admitting them as refugees. Refugees commit far fewer crimes than native-born US citizens.

The other word being redefined around migration is “criminal.”

The administration regularly calls migrants “criminals.” While a small percentage of undocumented immigrants do have criminal histories, the vast majority are fleeing persecution by criminal organizations. Among recent arrivals, even illegal crossings of the US border were rare. The Biden administration employed the CBP-1 app to allow would-be migrants to apply for asylum in the United States. The right to seek asylum is protected under international and US law. Most of the immigrants Trump would like to expel simply are not criminal, not by the standard definition. Crossing the border in order to apply for asylum is not a crime.

The definition of the word “criminal” is a crucial one when it comes to democracy, as we can see in places where democracy is waning.

This week, the country of El Salvador detained Ruth Lopez, an attorney with the organization Cristosal. Ruth has been listed by the BBC as one of the 100 most influential women in the world for her steadfast defense of human rights. The Salvadoran Administration detained her, and for days denied access to her family and attorneys. This detention is part of wider work in the country to criminalize dissent in a country on a rapid path toward autocracy. Calling Ruth Lopez a criminal for fighting back against the corruption and abuses of her government is a definition which only leads to less democracy, less freedom, less rights.

In a time when language is being weaponized, terms are being redefined, it is important to stand up for the basic meaning of words. What has made America great has been our willingness to receive people who were hungry, persecuted, and chased from their homes. As a nation, we have stood up for human rights, been an ally to those seeking justice, and a place where people who had to flee could be part of something new. We must stand for what America has meant to so many. Don’t allow our best hopes to be redefined out of existence.