Replaces references to "alien" and "illegal alien" in statutes with "foreign national" and "undocumented foreign national," respectively; prohibits use of those terms by executive branch agencies.
# Summary of New Jersey Bill Replacing "Alien" and "Illegal Alien" Terminology
This bill amends New Jersey statutes to replace the terms "alien" and "illegal alien" with "foreign national" and "undocumented foreign national," respectively, when referring to individuals based on their immigration status.
Key provisions include:
1. **Terminology Replacement**: The bill systematically replaces "alien" with "foreign national" and "illegal alien" with "undocumented foreign national" throughout New Jersey statutes in sections related to:
- Tax law (Section 23)
- Income tax tables (Section 24)
- Social services (Sections 16-22)
- Welfare programs (Sections 17-19)
- Real estate (Section 22)
- Medical assistance (Section 16)
- And numerous other legal contexts
2. **Agency Compliance**: Section 25 prohibits all New Jersey executive agencies from using the terms "alien" or "illegal alien" in any proposed or final rule, regulation, interpretation, publication, or other document issued after the effective date of the act, except when quoting or reproducing text from other sources.
3. **Rationale**: The bill's statement explains that the terms "alien" and "illegal alien" are offensive, ostracize immigrants, and have skewed immigration discussions. The bill aims to show respect to immigrants, recognize their personhood, and align with the principle that "the United States is a nation of immigrants."
4. **Implementation**: The bill takes effect on the first day of the third month following its enactment.
The bill is consistent with similar legislation introduced in Congress by Representative Joaquin Castro in 2015, reflecting a broader movement to use more respectful language when discussing immigration.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2024
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 9, 2024
Last action Jan 9, 2024
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
1
Key actions
0
Committee
0
Jan 9, 2024
Introduced
Introduced in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee
lower
3 primary · 4 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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