Honorable Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez,

Thank you for being here and for opening this space for civic dialogue. Congresswoman, I want to speak to the language used in the SAVE Act. I’ve read your list of justifications for voting in favor of it.

And I must say: the term “noncitizens” deeply offends me. It is a word loaded with historical bias. It echoes centuries of exclusion and dehumanization. It erases people’s humanity—as if the absence of a document or a paper trail makes someone less deserving of dignity.

We were all immigrants once—most of us uninvited. So how can we now turn around and label others in ways that imply they do not belong? That they are invisible? That they are non?

Language matters.
Words shape policy.
Policy shapes lives.

If “noncitizen” is not considered biased, then I ask you—how do we justify using a term that erases people’s humanity in a country that claims liberty and justice for all? If we don’t recognize the unconscious bias in that word, then we must ask: have we truly reckoned with the fact that this country was built on a foundation of white supremacy?

Congresswoman, this is not an attack. It is a plea—a call for moral clarity. I am asking you, as a constituent, as a Deaf human being: See us. Hear us.
Rethink how you legislate. Lead with love. Lead with justice.

Thank you.

6 Video Comments

↓

To comment, this group.
1. 

   1

   1

   TheLastHiccup

   7 months ago

   ReplyTo:   trazom
   
2. 

   2

   1

   TheLastHiccup

   7 months ago

   ReplyTo:   NeaLaugh
   
3. 

   3

   1

   TheLastHiccup

   7 months ago

   ReplyTo:   TruthHurts