Read: UNHCR “1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees” and  Tal Kopan, “Justice Department: Use ‘illegal aliens,’ not ‘undocumented’”

Watch: Define American “Words Matter” (1 min) and read the fact sheet linked at the bottom of the site (1 pg)

• “A refugee, according to the Convention, is someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.”
• This definition does not include undocumented individuals who are already in the United States over staying their visa.
• I noticed in the media that there were many refugees as an outcome of the war in Syria.
• Define America pushes against the use of the title of “Illegal Immigrant”. Because many individuals who are labeled as “illegal” did not enter the country illegally but are over staying their visa as undocumented. Additionally, they argue that an individual is not illegal but only actions. They are not illegal individuals but only lacking certain documents.
• The Department of Justice claims they use term “Illegal alien” to refer to all undocumented individuals regardless of how they enter the country to “avoid confusion”. But I believe that they are doing it to show they do not want asylum seekers coming to the United States regardless of how they entered the country, or lives their lives.
• How many other changes has Define America made with their movement?
• Do you think the justice department will acknowledge the difference between “illegal alien” and “undocumented immigrants”?

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