Letter: Alien, immigrant: terms that are often misused

Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2000 | 9:58 a.m.

I am a retired Border Patrol agent from the Yuma Border Patrol Sector, which includes the Las Vegas area. The patrol has been a dismal failure because of gutless politicians and management. Being retired gives me the opportunity to tell it like it is without fear of loss of my job or any other form of retaliation.

I would like to aid you in correct legal immigration terms as they relate to aliens and immigrants. Please don't take offense. I am trying to be of help.

Aliens: An alien is anyone in this country who isn't a citizen of the United States. We have legal and illegal aliens here. A legal alien is here with appropriate immigration documents and maintaining status as directed by their admission agreement. Conversely, if they violate their agreed admission status, then they become illegal aliens and can be expelled.

Immigrant: This is the term most misused. An immigrant is a person born in another country and migrated to this country with legal documents and became a citizen of the United States. I hear and read the term illegal immigrants all the time. There isn't any such status! The term immigrant refers to the final stage of an alien after becoming a naturalized citizen. It can only refer to absolute legal status.

If you are a citizen of another country and come to the U.S. without proper legal documents or use false documents to gain entry, then you are an illegal migrant. We have thousands of illegal migrants here in this city and it is going to choke us if the problem continues to grow unchecked as it is at present.

WALTER K. JONES