The week California lawmakers unanimously passed a bill that eliminated any reference to the “derogatory” term “alien” from the state labor laws of the state while also putting a stop to the state’s preference for employing citizens of the U.S during the peak employment periods.
The new legislation, SB 432, was an idea conceived by state senator Tony Mendoza, who was delighted after the unanimous decision to pass the bill Monday. When he initially tabled the bill, he condemned the word “alien” as not belonging anywhere in the state laws
Sen. Mendoza said, “The word ‘alien,’ and any law prescribing an order for the issuance of employment to ‘aliens,’ have no place in the laws of our state and more importantly, should never be the basis for any employment hiring. (The law) deletes this outdated, discriminatory and unnecessary reference in state law.”
Defending the bill last month, Mendoza said, “Alien is now commonly considered a derogatory term for a foreign-born person and has very negative connotations.”
Chief director of the Labor Council of San Francisco, Tim Paulson, agreed, mentioning that not only is it time to abolish the word “alien” but also the term “illegal.”
Explaining the point further, Paulson said, “There are two words we are opposed to: illegal and alien. There is no such thing as an illegal person, and there is no such thing as an illegal alien. All workers in this country, whether documented or undocumented, pay their taxes and do their fair share.”
The bill, which passed the California Senate collectively, takes effect at the commencement of 2016. The single vote against the bill came from a Republican in the State Assembly.
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