A GALLUP POLL FOUND 80 PERCENT OF AMERICANS SAY THE NATION IS “GREATLY DIVIDED.”
WE’RE SO FAR APART – NOT JUST ON THE ISSUES –
BUT EVEN WORDS CARRY DIFFERENT MEANINGS BETWEEN THE TWO MAJOR PARTIES
THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY POSTED A SINGLE WORD ON X — “REMIGRATE.”
IN A FOLLOW-UP POST, THE AGENCY LINKED TO A GOVERNMENT PAGE PROMOTING “VOLUNTARY SELF-DEPORTATION.”
THAT ONE WORD — “REMIGRATE” —
TRIGGERED A WAVE OF HEADLINES QUESTIONING WHAT DHS MEANT — AND WHY THEY USED IT.
SO WHAT EXACTLY DOES “REMIGRATE” MEAN?
AND WHY IS IT DRAWING SUCH STRONG REACTIONS FROM POLITICIANS AND THE PRESS?
THE CONTROVERSY OVER THE WORD “REMIGRATE” HAS MOSTLY PLAYED OUT ON **ONE SIDE OF THE MEDIA LANDSCAPE.
LEFT-LEANING OUTLETS FRAMED THE TERM AS PROBLEMATIC DUE TO HISTORIC TIES TO EXTREMIST GROUPS.
BUT RIGHT-LEANING OUTLETS ARE NOT COVERING THIS LATEST CONTROVERSY, EITHER SEEING IT AS NOT NEWSWORTHY OR A NON-ISSUE.
AND THESE TWO SENTIMENTS IN THE MEDIA…MIRROR THOSE IN THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE.
SEVERAL SOCIAL MEDIA USERS POSTED A “WIKIPEDIA” DEFINITION OF THE WORD –
ASSOCIATING THE TERM WITH “A EUROPEAN FAR RIGHT PROPOSAL OF ETHNIC CLEANSING.”
OTHER ONLINE CRITICS CALLED THE POST A “WHITE SUPREMACIST EUPHEMISM” AND “NEO-NAZI ETHNIC CLEANSING PROPAGANDA.”
SIMON HANKINSON, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW AT BORDER SECURITY IMMIGRATION CENTER AT HERITAGE FOUNDATION SAID QUOTE
“so what I can see from “remigration” is that if you look carefully enough you can find people using that are on the extreme end of the spectrum,” END QUOTE.
THE TERM HAS BEEN MORE PREVALENT IN EUROPEAN POLITICS AND HISTORY.
CNN CITED AN EXAMPLE OF ITS PRIOR USE BY HITLER AND HOW NEO-NAZIS HAVE PUT “REMIGRATION” SLOGANS ON T-SHIRTS.
A POLICY DIRECTOR FOR THE INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC DIALOGUE SAYS THE TERM “REMIGRATE” IS CLOSELY LINKED TO “THE GREAT REPLACEMENT THEORY” – WHICH SUGGESTS THERE’S A CONSPIRACY TO REPLACE WHITE EUROPEAN POPULATIONS WITH NON-EUROPEAN MIGRANTS –
AND EXTREMIST OR WHITE SUPREMECIST GROUPS SEE “REMIGRATION” AS A SOLUTION AND WAY TO “ETHNICALLY CLEANSE”.
DHS WAS ASKED BY NEWS OUTLETS ABOUT THE “REMIGRATE” POST ON X.
DHS SPOKESPERSON TRICIA MCLAUGHLIN SAID IN A MEDIA STATEMENT, “IS THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TOO DIFFICULT FOR YOU?” WITH A COLLINS ENGLISH DICTIONARY DEFINITION OF THE WORD.
WHICH READS “TO MIGRATE AGAIN; MIGRATE BACK; OR RETURN.”
HER STATEMENT CONTINUED – “We urge all illegal aliens to remigrate and self-deport using the CBP Home app.”
“When I hear the state department use the word remigration, i think what they are talking about is figuring out ways to more quickly get people here illegally in the united states who should be removed back to either their home country or wherever we can send them.”
SOME CONDEMN THE ADMINISTRATION FOR USING THE TERM “REMIGRATE.”
SUCH AS THIS PROFESSOR INTERVIEWED BY TIME WHO SAID “In Europe, it’s an established part of the linguistic toolbox of white supremacy.”
BUT HANKINSON SAYS THE WORD SHOULDN’T BE BANNED JUST BECAUSE OF BAD ACTORS.
ACCORDING TO STATE DEPARTMENT SOURCES –
THE USE OF “REMIGRATION” COULD BECOME A NEW NORM AS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS PLANNING TO ESTABLISH AN “OFFICE OF REMIGRATION,” A NEW HUB TO FACILITATE THE VOLUNTARY RETURN OF MIGRANTS TO THEIR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN OR LEGAL RESIDENCE.
