Category: Borders and Populations

Language, Please is a living resource that will be regularly updated. We’re working hard on an entry for this topic — please check back in soon.

Language, Please is a living resource that will be regularly updated. We’re working hard on an entry for this topic — please check back in soon.

Language, Please is a living resource that will be regularly updated. We’re working hard on an entry for this topic — please check back in soon.

Alternatives to detention (ATD) are policies or practices that prevent the holding of migrants in detention centers while they are involved in immigration court proceedings. Many ATD officially recognized by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are subcontracted to subsidiaries of private prison companies and consist of restrictive technologies (such as ankle monitors) and frequent reporting requirements. If writing about these programs, it’s helpful to include a brief explanation of them.

Colonization is an invasion, displacement, and subjugation of a group of people, often the original or longstanding historical inhabitants of an area. The term colonialism refers to the ongoing processes of power and control by one group over another group or territory, and is inextricably linked to the exploitation of colonized people. There are many contemporary efforts to recognize the effects of colonization around the world, such as celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day rather than Columbus Day.

An individual is granted US citizenship through different means, including birth and naturalization. Generally, natives or naturalized residents of US territories can be referred to as American citizens; American Samoa is the only unincorporated US territory that does not confer birthright citizenship. As with any such identifier, taking into account an individual’s preference wherever possible ensures language aligns with their lived experience. It may add vital context for audiences to mention in coverage the limits placed on citizenship in US territories and the colonialist history that contributes to why those limits exist.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a US immigration status granted to noncitizens who flee their countries of origin due to ongoing war, environmental disasters, or other conditions that are deemed “extraordinary” and “temporary.” Recipients are protected from deportation and may work and live in the US as long as they have this status. If using the term, including a brief explanation on first reference can be helpful for clarity.

“Human smuggling,” sometimes called “migrant smuggling,” involves illegally transporting someone across a border (usually an international border) to a state or nation where the individual is not a national or permanent resident, for financial or other material gain. Human smuggling is often confused with human trafficking, but there is a distinction: Smuggling is a crime against the state, while trafficking is a crime against the individual being trafficked.

The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act is a bill that aims to create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children. Someone who qualifies for the DREAM Act is called a “DREAMer” or “Dreamer.” DREAMer and DACA recipient are not interchangeable terms — DREAMer refers to the wider population of undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children, not all of whom are eligible for DACA, so only DREAMers who have received DACA status are DACA recipients.