Source: Suzanne Monyak, ROLL CALL, 2/18/21


It started as a routine business meeting, the year’s first for the House Judiciary Committee’s immigration panel, but it quickly devolved into a heated debate about terminology. Subcommittee Chair Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., called for the words “legal and illegal” to be changed to “authorized and unauthorized” for private immigration bills, arguing that swapping the terms would be more legally precise. For instance, while it’s illegal to enter the U.S. without permission, someone who overstays a visa is unauthorized.

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