Key Terms

These are just a few of the key terms to know when discussing immigration issues.  We hope they will provide some helpful background and understanding as you navigate our cartoons.  For an incredibly in-depth look at the history of immigration in the U.S., follow this link.

AMNESTY (immigration): The proposed immigration amnesty would benefit the 12 to
 20 million undocumented aliens (illegal immigrants) currently living in the United States. An amnesty for illegal aliens forgives their acts of illegal immigration and implicitly forgives other related illegal acts such as driving and working with false documents. The result of an amnesty is that large numbers of foreigners who illegally gained entry into the United States are rewarded with legal status (a "green card") despite the fact that they broke immigration laws.  The United States has granted amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants through different amnesties and laws. Before the first amnesty in 1986, amnesty was only given on a case by case basis. Amnesty was never given to a large group of individuals. The first (and supposedly one-time only) amnesty in 1986 gave about 2.8 million illegal immigrations the opportunity to change their status through the Immigration and Reform Control Act (IRCA).

UNDOCUMENTED WORKER: An immigrant who is lacking proper documentation to reside in a country not of their birth. Derogatory terms include: illegal alien, illegal worker, or anything that refers to an undocumented worker as subhuman or lesser.

RACISM: Many different definitions of racism are available. See here. Racism is a prejudice or bias against a person or group based on their cultural background.

THE DREAM ACT: A piece of legislation aimed in helping young and eligible illegal immigrants pursue a college or military career and creating a pathway to citizenship. To quality, the person must be no older than 30 years old, graduated or in the process of graduating high school, have no felonies on their record and no more than three misdemeanors.

SB 1070: An act that was passed in Arizona to put harsher controls on immigration. One of the main aspects of the law: If a person is suspected to be an undocumented worker, documentation could be required. Racial profiling is prohibited in SB 1070. Former Senator Russell Pearce and current Governor Jan Brewer were some of the major supporters and architect of SB 1070.  In June 2012, The Supreme Court struck down most of SB 1070 as being unconstitutional, but still kept the provision that allows law enforcement officials to request documentation of persons that they reasonably suspect could be undocumented workers.  This bill has been controversial for bearing an extremely conservative agenda and smacking of racism.

DEPORTATION DEFERRAL: In July 2012, in order to bypass the stalling of the DREAM Act in Congress, President Obama issues an executive order which will allow some 800,000 young immigrants to avoid deportation. To qualify for this deferral, the person must be no older than 30, has graduated from high school or is in the process of graduating, and hasn't been convicted of a felony or more than three misdemeanors. They must have been living in the country for 5 years, must have entered before the age of 16, and must currently have at least a high school GED or be serving in the military.