Rep. Chu Opposes Xenophobic Language in Legislative Appropriations Bill

Washington, DC – Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5325, the Fiscal Year 2017 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act. This bill appropriates $1.19 billion for the operations of the House of Representatives, as well as $2.29 billion for other legislative branch agencies and programs affiliated with the House, like the Capitol Police, the Library of Congress, the Government Accountability Office, and the Government Printing Office. The bill also includes report language that seeks to force the Library of Congress to continue using the term “illegal aliens.” This provision is in response to the Library’s March 2016 decision to replace this term with the words “noncitizens” and “unauthorized immigration” after a lengthy review process determined “alien” to be pejorative and recommend it’s use be discontinued. Due to the inclusion of this provision, Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) voted against the bill. She released the following statement:

“Language matters, which is why the Library of Congress first decided to stop using these pejorative terms. Terms like ‘Alien’ and “Illegal Alien” are all too familiar to many in our immigrant communities. Between the late 1800s and mid-1900s, various ‘alien’ laws targeted Asian Americans by denying their citizenship, restricting land ownership, and prohibiting inter-racial marriage. And during World War II, the U.S. government rounded up ‘aliens of Japanese ancestry’ for imprisonment. Today, new immigrants are called ‘alien,’ which makes them feel unwelcome and un-American. This is outrageous. Instead of isolating and attacking our new immigrants, we should be seeking to support them and bring them out of the shadows. Immigrants contribute to the vitality and diversity of our country. I remain committed to countering the rising xenophobia in Congress and our country.”

Last month, Rep. Chu, as Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, joined leaders of the Congressional Black and Hispanic Caucuses in sending a letter to the House Appropriations Committee urging the removal of the provision.