Twitter blocks posts that use phrase ‘illegal alien’ as ‘hateful content’
The federal government, U.S. Supreme Court, and lawyers across the country use the word “illegal alien” to describe immigrants who illegally enter the country, because that’s the definition in the law.
But Twitter makes its own laws, and the social media giant is now blocking folks from promoting any messages with the phrase, which its moderators apparently consider “hate speech.”
1/ Twitter is not allowing us to promote any tweets including the phrase “illegal alien(s)”, citing it as “Hateful Content.” However, the phrase “illegal aliens” has been used in both federal law and by the Supreme Court.
— Center for Immigration Studies (@CIS_org) September 11, 2018
“1/ Twitter is not allowing us to promote any tweets including the phrase ‘illegal alien(s)’, citing it as Hateful Content,” the Center for Immigration Studies posted to Twitter Tuesday. “However, ‘illegal aliens’ has been used in both federal law and by the Supreme Court.”
Twitter rejected a total of four ads from the Center but provided only vague reasoning for the decision.
“We’ve reviewed your tweets and confirmed that it is ineligible to participate in the Twitter Ads program at this time based on our Hateful Content policy. Violating content include, but is not limited to, that which is hate speech or advocacy against a protected group,” according to a notice posted on the CIS website.
“All four tweets use the statutory phrases ‘illegal alien’ or ‘criminal alien’, and all of the tweets referenced law enforcement, either at the border or in the interior,” CIS reports. “One of the tweets contained a powerful Daily Caller video showing illegal aliens in camouflage carrying large backpacks across the border unimpeded.”
One of the tweets rejected by Twitter Ads simply stated facts put out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ICE recently completed a massive multi-state enforcement operation targeting criminal aliens that resulted in the arrests of 364 individuals. Of those, 187 (51%) had prior criminal convictions and 97 had been previously removed from the United States.https://t.co/PSWsBNlmCU
— Center for Immigration Studies (@CIS_org) September 6, 2018
“ICE recently completed a massive multi-state enforcement operation targeting criminal aliens that resulted in the arrests of 364 individuals,” it read. “Of those, 187 (51%) had prior criminal convictions and 97 had been previously removed from the United States.”
Others offered an opinion on immigration that runs counter to the mainstream media narrative.
A couple in Oregon was recently killed by a drunk-driving Mexican illegal alien.
Now, with the state’s sanctuary law being put up to a ballot, the sanctuary law’s defenders say the other side is “seizing upon” illegal alien crime.
Isn’t that the point?https://t.co/lScfW32pUm
— Center for Immigration Studies (@CIS_org) September 10, 2018
“A couple in Oregon was recently killed by a drunk-driving Mexican illegal alien,” another read. “Now, with the state’s sanctuary law being put up to a ballot, the sanctuary law’s defenders say the other side is ‘seizing upon’ illegal alien crime. Isn’t that the point?”
The farm which employed the illegal alien who killed Mollie Tibbetts was raided by ICE agents.
ICE should do more of this– continue to focus on employers of illegal aliens who commit serious crimes. Often, those arrests lead to many more aliens found.https://t.co/Ht0vHneeIo
— Center for Immigration Studies (@CIS_org) September 11, 2018
“The farm which employed the illegal alien who killed Mollie Tibbetts was raided by ICE agents,” the CIS posted in another rejected tweet. “ICE should do more of this – continue to focus on employers of illegal aliens who commit serous crimes. Often, those arrests lead to many more aliens found.”
After the ad rejections, CIS schooled Twitter with several examples of the term “illegal alien” in federal court records, as well as the definition from the Code of Federal Regulations: “Illegal alien means any person who is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States or who has not been authorized by the Attorney General to accept employment in the United States.”
Twitchy points out that Twitter joins others who have attempted to censor the term “illegal immigrant” or similar descriptions of illegal immigrants in recent years.
In 2013, the Associated Press advised journalists not to use the world “illegal” when referring to those who break the law by crossing the border.
“Except in direct quotations, do not use the terms illegal alien, an illegal, illegals or undocumented,” the AP Style Guide instructs.
Sen. Kamala Harris, a California Democrat and rumored 2020 presidential candidate, has also declared “illegal alien” offensive, stating in 2016 that “we must stop treating undocumented workers as criminals in this country,” Twitchy reports.
Well, that explains why twitter kicked me off a couple of weeks ago - all I did was advocate shooting them at the border. :)