Sheriff Tom Hodgson Blasts NYC Law Banning Term ‘Illegal Alien’

Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson is lashing out against New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio and city officials for enacting a law that bans the use of the term “illegal alien” by law enforcement, employers, and housing providers with a fine of up to $250,000 for those who violate it.

The New York City Commission on Human Rights released new guidelines last month that ban the use of the term in the city, labeling the term as “discriminatory.”

Sheriff Hodgson, known nationally for his efforts and collaboration with President Donald Trump on curbing illegal immigration, took to Twitter over the weekend to blast New York City’s elected officials.

“How incredibly outrageous that the Mayor of New York and others have warned law abiding Americans that they will be fined up to $250,000, if they use the term “illegal alien/immigrant”, when describing someone who knowingly has entered our country in violation of our laws,” Hodgson tweeted Saturday morning.

The Commission uses the argument that New York City has a history of immigrants inhabiting it, stating in a 29-page document that nearly 1.4 million city residents, or 16-percent of the population, are non-citizens. The Commission says using the term “alien” is discriminatory and will “subject a party to annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, undue burden, or prejudice (including in terrorem effect).”

“’Alien — used in many laws to refer to a “noncitizen” person — is a term that may carry negative connotations and dehumanize immigrants, marking them as ‘other’,” read page four of the document.

“As discussed in Section III, the use of certain language, including ‘illegal alien’ and ‘illegals,’ with the intent to demean, humiliate, or offend a person or persons constitutes discrimination under the NYCHRL.”

Hodgson traveled to Washington, D.C. last month to meet with nearly 200 sheriffs from across the country to hold a rally on Capitol Hill demanding Congress to take action on illegal immigration, meet with the Trump Administration and present President Trump an award for his effort on the issue.

The Sheriff has also been testifying on Beacon Hill against a proposed state law that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain a Massachusetts driver’s license.