illegals
Those without papers
Illegals is a noun referring to people who have entered or remain in a country without legal authorization.
The term is considered dehumanizing by many because it reduces people to their immigration status: The politician promised to deport illegals.
Critics argue that actions can be illegal but people cannot be, preferring "undocumented immigrants" or "unauthorized migrants." The word carries strong political connotation and appears most often in anti-immigration rhetoric.
Not officially recorded
- borderOuter edge or limit
- crossingPoint where paths intersect
- migrantOne who relocates
- deportationLegal expulsion from country
asylum · refugee · visa · overstay · entry · raid · sanctuary · naturalization
Legal expulsion from country
- detentionTemporary official holding
- raidSudden armed incursion
- crackdownSudden strict enforcement
- ICEImmigration enforcement bureau
checkpoint · roundup · sweep · arrest · investigation · prosecution · removal · dragnet
Being barred from participation
- discriminationUnjust differential treatment
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- vulnerabilityOpenness to harm
- undergroundBelow ground or countercultural
invisibility · precarity · disenfranchisement · stigmatization · othering · second-class · hardship · survival
Formal argument on issues
- polarizationSeparation into opposing extremes
- protestPublic expression of disapproval
- activismDirect effort for reform
- lobbyingAdvocating to decision-makers
legislation · policy · reform · advocacy · partisanship · stigma · discourse · media
undocumented
Not officially recorded
deportation · asylum · refugee · visa · overstay · entry · raid · sanctuary · naturalization · citizenship
deportation
Legal expulsion from country
ICE · checkpoint · roundup · sweep · arrest · investigation · prosecution · removal · dragnet · fugitive
exclusion
Being barred from participation
- discriminationUnjust differential treatment
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- vulnerabilityOpenness to harm
underground · invisibility · precarity · disenfranchisement · stigmatization · othering · second-class · hardship · survival · fear
debate
Formal argument on issues
- polarizationSeparation into opposing extremes
- protestPublic expression of disapproval
- activismDirect effort for reform
lobbying · legislation · policy · reform · advocacy · partisanship · stigma · discourse · media · bias
- migrationmigration, immigrants, refugees, immigration, emigration
- espionagespy, spies, double agent, double agents, spying
illegalsdocumented immigrants
Authorized foreign nationals with paperwork
green card holders · legal aliens · naturalized citizens · guest workers · refugees
illegalscitizens
Members of a nation
nationals · natives · countrymen · insiders · locals
illegalsundocumented immigrants
Migrants without legal papers
undocumented workers · migrants · newcomers · asylum seekers · displaced persons
- illegal dumpingUnlawful waste disposal
- illegal drugsOutlawed intoxicating substances
- illegal immigrantForeign national present unlawfully
- illegal fireworksProhibited celebratory pyrotechnics
- illegal immigrationUnlawful entry into nations
- illegal tradeUnlawful commercial exchange
illegal, illegally, illegality, illegalize, illegalizing, illegalities, illegalized, illegalization