Category Archives: Illegal Immigration

Pay Attention to this Pope, Unknowns

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WSJ: HOLGUÍN, Cuba— Pope Francis commiserated with Cuba’s Catholics on Monday about the difficulty of religious life in a communist country but stopped short of any direct criticism of its leaders.

“I know the efforts and the sacrifices being made by the church in Cuba to bring Christ’s word and presence to all, even in the most remote areas,” the pope said, as he celebrated Mass as the first pontiff to visit the central Cuban city of Holguín.

The pope’s relatively mild public complaint came during a trip that has been marked by his cautious stance toward the island’s government.

The previous day in Havana, Pope Francis met Cuban President Raúl Castro and his predecessor and brother Fidel Castro, shortly after dissidents said they had been detained to prevent them from attending a papal Mass.
Other groups of dissidents were also detained on Sunday, including a group that had been invited by the Vatican’s diplomatic mission to greet the pope behind closed doors. The meeting never took place.

Asked on Monday whether Pope Francis knew about a reported 50 arrests of dissidents, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said, “I don’t have any information about this.”

Before the visit, the pope came under criticism for his decision to meet with both Raúl and Fidel Castro, but not to meet with any dissidents.

Neither day’s homily contained any strong political statements, though on Monday the pope told a congregation of thousands in Holguín’s Revolution Square that faith in Jesus “pushes us to look beyond, not to be satisfied with the politically correct.”

Cuba is no longer an officially atheistic state, but the Catholic Church and other religious groups here continue to operate under many of the restrictions imposed by the communist government in the years after the 1959 revolution.

Visits by then- Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, in 1998 and 2012, respectively, led to government concessions including visas for foreign missionaries and the establishment of Christmas and Good Friday as national holidays.

The Catholic Church in Cuba is still generally unable to run schools, build new houses of worship or maintain older ones, and its social-service activity remains limited by a virtual monopoly of the state.

In a speech to President Castro and other dignitaries during an arrival ceremony at Havana’s international airport Saturday, Pope Francis said the Catholic Church in Cuba should have the “freedom, the means and the space needed” to evangelize and provide charitable service to the island’s people.

While the church has publicly pressed its own case in Cuba, it has so far been silent on the lack of political rights and freedoms on the island.

The church has occasionally worked quietly to ease the plight of dissidents. In 2010 and 2011, Havana’s Cardinal Jaime Ortega arranged for the release of more than 100 political prisoners, most of whom then left the country.

The Vatican has said the pope would likely address concerns over religious liberty or the civil rights of dissidents not in public remarks, but rather in private meetings with Mr. Castro and other officials.

Holguín, a city of 1.65 million in the center of the country, is usually overshadowed by Havana and Santiago, the other two cities the pope was scheduled to visit during this trip. The Vatican said the pope added the seven-hour stop there because it had been neglected by John Paul and Benedict when they visited the country.

Small clusters of people greeted the pope’s motorcade on its way in from the airport, and he covered last two miles in an open-sided popemobile. The sweltering heat seemed to take a toll on the 78-year-old pope, who looked and sounded especially fatigued as he celebrated Mass.

The pope was scheduled to fly shortly before 5 p.m. to Santiago, where he was to meet Cuba’s Catholic bishops and pay homage to the country’s patroness, the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre. After less than a day there, he will fly to Washington, the first of three stops on a U.S. tour that ends Sunday in Philadelphia.

*** What you may not know:

WASHINGTON, McClatchy

Pope Francis arrives in Washington Tuesday to start his first visit to the United States. Here are 10 things you may not know about the religious leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.

He is fluent in four languages, but English isn’t one of them.

The Argentine pope is fluent in his native Spanish, Italian, German and Latin, the official language of the Vatican. He also has addressed crowds in clear but heavily accented English, French, Portuguese and Ukrainian. In a nod to the growing importance of the U.S. Hispanic population, the pope will celebrate at least one Mass in Spanish during his visit, at the canonization ceremony of California missionary Junípero Serra. He will read his address to Congress in English.

He has a rather unusual resume for a supreme pontiff.

Back when he was still Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the future pope moonlighted as a Buenos Aires bar bouncer and a janitor sweeping floors before joining the Jesuit Order in 1958. As a teenager, Bergoglio got his secondary school diploma as a chemical technician and worked at a food laboratory running tests on nutrients.

He’s a big fan of tango, soccer and “Lord of the Rings.”

Pope Francis has an “intense fondness” for tango dancing and the traditional music of Argentina and Uruguay known as milonga. In 2014, over 3,000 dancers from all over Italy celebrated his birthday by dancing tango in Saint Peter’s Square. A lifelong fan of the Argentine soccer team San Lorenzo, he is number 88,235 on the club’s member list. In 2013 he celebrated the team’s victory by hoisting the trophy over Saint Peter’s Square for the crowd to see. The pope is also a “Lord of the Rings” aficionado. In a 2008 sermon he used the Tolkien characters Frodo and Bilbo as inspiring examples of hope conquering doubt.

Pope Francis has never been to the United States.

Up to now, he has made a point of prioritizing the margins of society over developed countries in the Western world.

For his first official papal trip outside Rome he went to a Sicilian island to meet migrants who had survived the dangerous ocean crossing from Africa. In his two years as pope he has traveled to Israel, Jordan, the Palestine territories, the Philippines, South Korea and Sri Lanka in addition to several South American countries.

The designated ‘popemobile’ for the U.S. visit is a Jeep Wrangler.

The Holy Father will be shuttled around the streets of Washington, New York and Philadelphia in a Jeep Wrangler that is already in the hands of the Secret Service, according to the Vatican.

A similar car with open sides and a glass-front roof was used for the pope’s visit to Ecuador in July. This layout will give the surrounding crowds a clear view of the pontiff, unlike the closed and bulletproof “popemobiles” of his predecessors.

The pope’s aircraft is nicknamed ‘Shepherd One.’

Typically the pope flies in an ordinary chartered jet operated by Italy’s national carrier, Alitalia. Although the pope owns no special airplane, Americans nicknamed the chartered papal flight “Shepherd One” when Pope Benedict XVI visited the U.S. in 2008.

According to traditional protocol, when a pope travels abroad he flies out on the Alitalia chartered jet and returns to Rome on a flag carrier of the visited nation, although this depends on where he goes.

The 266th pope likes being out on the streets.

Pope Francis is famously unpretentious. A few examples: He was spotted popping out of the Vatican in his Ford Focus to buy new glasses at an optician’s shop in Rome. During his recent visit to Bolivia, he stopped at a Burger King to change his clothing before saying Mass. He’s the first pope to wander down into the cafeteria to eat lunch with Vatican employees. He’s also the first pope to carry his own luggage onto the plane.

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Pope Francis has prioritized climate change and environmental issues.

He criticized those who deny the human connection to climate change in a strongly worded 184-page encyclical, “Laudato Si,” issued in June. He wrote that the modern “use and throwaway” culture and the “disordered desire to consume more than what is really necessary” is to blame for global warming.

“Never have we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last 200 years,” he wrote. The encyclical was sharply criticized by many as inappropriate meddling by a religious institution in a political issue. He is expected to address climate change during his U.S. visit.

The pope (no longer) wears Prada.

While predecessor Benedict XVI was known for wearing the customary bright red shoes rumored to be designed by Italian fashion house Prada, Francis prefers to stick to the same simple black leather shoes from his days as archbishop of Buenos Aires.

He also prefers humbler papal garments, doing away with the velvet capes, fur trim, elaborate crucifixes and gold rings of the office.

He is the first pope from the developing world.

The Buenos Aires native of Italian ancestry is the first pontiff to come from the developing world, the first pope from the Americas, and the first non-European pope since Syrian Gregory III in 741. He is also the first Jesuit pope.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article35740713.html#emlnl=Morning_Newsletter#storylink=cpy

Castro to the Pope: Return Guantanamo Bay

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Text of Raul Castro’s speech after Pope Francis’ arrival

U.S. embargo ‘is cruel, immoral and illegal,’ Cuban president says

HAVANA –

Cuban President Raul Castro praised Pope Francis’ critiques of the global economic system, saying it has “globalized capital and turned money into its idol.”

In a lengthy speech welcoming the pope at Havana’s international airport Saturday, Castro said Cuba’s communist government has “founded an equitable society with social justice.”

Here is a translation of Castro’s speech:

Your Holiness,

The people and government of Cuba welcome you with profound affection, respect and hospitality.

We feel particularly honored with your visit. You will see how deeply we love our homeland, for which we are capable of the greatest sacrifices. We have always followed in the steps of the heroes of our America, who bestowed upon us their honor, courage and generosity. It is from them that we have learned to exercise Marti’s axiom that homeland is Humanity.

The memorable meeting we had last May in Vatican City offered an opportunity to exchange ideas on some of the most important issues related to the world we live in.

The peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean have decided to move forward with integration, in defense of our independence, sovereignty over natural resources and social justice.

However, our region still shows the greatest disparity in wealth distribution. In this continent, legitimate governments working for a better future are facing numerous attempts at destabilization.

We have closely followed your statements. The apostolic exhortation known as “The Joy of Gospel” related to social issues, and the encyclical “Praise Be To You” related to the future and care for the planet and humanity, have moved me to a profound reflection. They shall be references for the next Summit on the Post-2015 Development Agenda to be held at the United Nations this month, and the 21st International Conference on Climate Change scheduled for December in Paris.

An increasing global impact has resulted from your analysis on the causes of these problems and the call to safeguard the planet and the survival of our species; to cease the predatory action of the wealthy nations and the big transnationals; and, to remove the dangers threatening us all due to the depletion of resources and the loss of biodiversity.

As his Holiness has rightly indicated: “Humanity should become aware of the necessity to change life styles as well as production and consumption patterns.”

At the UN Conference on Development and the Environment held in Rio de Janeiro in1992, Fidel Castro, leader of the Cuban Revolution, raised the necessity to save humanity from self-destruction; to make a better distribution of wealth, knowledge, science and technology in order to attain a sustainable development; and “to make hunger, and not nan, disappear.”

The current international system is unfair and immoral. It has globalized capital and turned money into its idol. It makes people become simple consumers, and instead of disseminating knowledge and culture, it alienates them with behavior patterns and reflexes promoted by means that serve only their owners’ interests, that is, the transnational media corporations.

The deep and permanent crisis falls harshly on the Third World countries, albeit in the industrial world it also affects the disenfranchised, the minorities, the young unemployed and the helpless elders as well as those seeking refuge from starvation and conflict. What immigrants and the poor are going through stands as an offense to human conscience. They are the outraged of the world claiming for their rights and the end to such injustice.

Your Holiness,

In your remarks to the world meetings of Popular Movements held in October last year at Vatican City and in July this year at Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia, you reiterated the necessity to practice solidarity and to struggle together against the structural sources of poverty and inequality; for man’s dignity and his right to the land and to work; and for a roof to give him shelter.

It was to conquer such rights, among others, that the Cuban Revolution was undertaken. Those were the same rights that Fidel advocated in the historical defense argument known as “History Will Absolve Me.”

It is to build a society with more justice and solidarity that we have made extraordinary efforts and taken the greatest risks ever since the revolutionary victory.
And, we have done while blockaded, slandered, and attacked; and paying a high toll in human lives and economic damages. We have founded an equitable society with social justice and extensive access to culture, attached to traditions and to the most advanced ideas of Cuba, Latin America, the Caribbean and the world.

Millions of people have recuperated their health thanks to Cuban cooperation: 325,710 collaborators have provided services in 158 countries; today, 50,281 Cuban healthcare workers are providing services in 68 nations; thanks to the “Yes, I Can” educational program, 9,376,000 people have left illiteracy behind in 30 different countries, while more than 68,000 students from 157 countries have graduated in Cuba.

We keep advancing with determination in the updating of our economic and social model to build a prosperous and sustainable socialism focused on human beings and the family, and with the free, democratic, conscious and creative involvement of the entire society, particularly young people.

Preserving socialism is tantamount to securing independence, sovereignty, development and the well being of our nation. We are firmly determined to face every challenge and build a just and virtuous society with high ethical and spiritual values. As the honorable priest Félix Varela indicated, “We want the future generations to inherit from us the dignity of man, and to remember what it takes to recover it so that they fear losing it.”


Regional unity, identity and integration should be defended. The Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Peace Zone, signed by heads of state and government at the 2nd Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States held in Havana in January 2014, establishes a set of commitments of crucial importance such as: the peaceful solution of controversial issues in order to definitely remove the use, and the threat of the use, of force in our region; the prevention of direct or indirect interference in the domestic affairs of any other state and respect for the principles of national sovereignty; the equality of rights and free determination of the peoples; the promotion of friendly relations and cooperation among themselves and with other nations; and, full respect for the inalienable right of every state to choose its political, economic, social and cultural system as an essential premise to ensure peaceful coexistence among nations.

Concerning Cuba, the purposes and principles consecrated in the United Nations Charter are fully valid. Only respect for them can ensure international peace and security, which at the moment are increasingly challenged.

We found extremely interesting his Holiness remarks during the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the nuclear strikes on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The existence of nuclear weapons threatens the very survival of human beings and constitutes an affront to the ethical and moral principles that should guide relations among nations. The use of such weapons would bring about the obliteration of human civilization; therefore, advocating disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament, is not only the duty but also the right of all peoples in the world.

Your Holiness,

We have expressed our appreciation for your support to the United States-Cuba dialogue. The reestablishment of relations has been a first step in the process toward normalization of the relationship between the two countries, which will demand resolving problems and correcting injustices. The blockade, which causes human damages and privations to the Cuban family, is cruel, immoral and illegal, and it should cease. The territory usurped by the Guantanamo Naval Base should be returned to Cuba and other issues resolved, too. Such fair claims are shared by the peoples and the overwhelming majority of governments in the world.

This year we are celebrating the 80th anniversary of uninterrupted relations between the Apostolic Holy See and Cuba. These relations are good and continue to favorably develop on the basis of mutual respect.

Relations between the government and the Catholic Church in Cuba are developing in a gratifying atmosphere, the same as with every denomination and religious institution represented in the country that promote moral values recognized and enhanced by our nation. We exercise religious freedom as a right consecrated in our Constitution.

We attach full meaning to the presence of his Holiness in our homeland. We feel that it will be a transcendental and enriching experience for our nation that he meets with our industrious and educated people, our selfless and generous people that treasure profound convictions and patriotic values, and are willing to continue their heroic resistance and build a society capable of ensuring the full development of men and women, with dignity and justice.

On behalf of this noble people I offer you the warmest welcome.

Thank you.

More Facts on Migrants in Europe

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SoS, John Kerry had a meeting with Hammond, the UK Foreign Minister. Among many topics, Syria was discussed:

Hammond: We have, of course, talked primarily this morning about the situation in Syria and the migration crisis that is affecting Europe, and we’ve talked about how to move forward with our partners in response to recent developments in Syria to tackle the growing threat from ISIL and to ensure that we’re joined up between our actions in Iraq and our actions in Syria.

Kerry:

With respect to Syria, obviously, we spent a significant amount of time and we covered a lot of territory today. As the foreign secretary said, we talked about Yemen, where we urged the parties to get to negotiations. We talked about Libya, where hope that the work of Bernardino Leon will bear fruit. But obviously, there are challenges, and we call on the house of representatives to return to that process and to recognize this is a critical moment. And ISIL and other extremist groups take advantage of a vacuum, and a vacuum is what is left if there is not an agreement. So we need for the sake of the 6 million citizens of Libya, where there is great opportunity and significant wealth available to be able to help that country bind its wounds and move forward. We hope that they will make the right choices in the days ahead.

With respect to Syria, the foreign secretary and I agreed completely on the urgency of nations coming together in order to resolve this war that has gone on for much too long. And it is clear that the challenge to continental Europe, but to everybody, of the migrant population of refugees seeking a better life cannot be properly addressed just by addressing the numbers of refugees coming into a country or providing more support to them; it has to be addressed by dealing with the root cause, which is the violence in Syria and the lack of hope and possibility of a future that so many people in that region feel as a consequence of the violence that’s taking place.

The full meeting readout is here.

*** Deeper facts:

In part: DailyMail, includes photo essay

Four out of five migrants are NOT from Syria: EU figures expose the ‘lie’ that the majority of refugees are fleeing war zone 

  • Some 44,000 of the 213,000 refugees who arrived in Europe were from Syria
  • A further 27,000 new arrivals on the continent came from Afghanistan
  • Britain received one in 30 of all the asylum claims made by new applicants
  • David Cameron has offered to take in 20,000 refugees but none from the EU

Only one in every five migrants claiming asylum in Europe is from Syria.

The EU logged 213,000 arrivals in April, May and June but only 44,000 of them were fleeing the Syrian civil war.

Campaigners and left-wing MPs have suggested the vast majority of migrants are from the war-torn state, accusing the Government of doing too little to help them.

‘This exposes the lie peddled in some quarters that vast numbers of those reaching Europe are from Syria,’ said David Davies, Tory MP for Monmouth. ‘Most people who are escaping the war will go to camps in Lebanon or Jordan.

‘Many of those who have opted to risk their lives to come to Europe have done so for economic reasons.’

The figures from Eurostat, the EU’s official statistical agency, show that migration from April to June was running at double the level of the same period in 2014.

The number of Afghans lodging asylum claims is up four-fold, from 6,300 to 27,000. Another 17,700 claims were made by Albanians, whose country is at peace.

A further 13,900 applicants came from Iraq which, like Syria, is being torn apart by the Islamic State terror group.

Sample individual stories: From Voice of America

One is a sixth-grader who braved walks through Balkan forests to join his brother in England; another fought the Taliban while serving Afghan forces in Helmand; a third spent years working in Turkey to cover a human smuggler’s fee.

They are Afghanistan’s latest diaspora, refugees of raging war and shrunken economic prospects, swept up in the largest flood of migrants Europe has seen in more than 70 years.

Until their numbers were eclipsed by refugees from the Syrian war last year, Afghanistan had produced more refugees than any other nation thanks to more than three decades of intractable conflict.

While the majority of prior Afghan refugees made new lives in Pakistan and Iran, United Nations data say nearly 80,000 Afghans are now officially seeking asylum in Europe — the highest rate in 20 years.

Their exodus has only increased as a resurgent Taliban wages its bloodiest offensive in 14 years.

Drawn by the promise of a better life, many tapped into their life’s savings and money from family already in Europe to pay smugglers to spirit them across six countries. The less well-off risked the journey alone.

VOA Afghan Service anchor Ahmad Fawad Lami traveled to Hungary and Serbia where he caught up with many Afghan refugees just as Austria briefly opened its border.

These are just a few of their stories. A must read.

Dawa Jaan Sahil

What Trump Should have Said During Townhall

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In his own words, the Muslim Brother:

“I will stand with the Muslims should the politicall winds shift in an ugly direction”, page 261 of his book: The Audacity of Hope

Written by Mike Gallagher, an American radio host and conservative political commentator.  He is the host of The Mike Gallagher Show.

Many listeners have asked about the,  “Obama: It Was You,” essay that someone sent me. Here it is:

President Obama: This is why you didn’t go to France to show solidarity against the Muslim terrorists:

It was you who spoke these words at an Islamic dinner – “I am one of you.”

It was you who on ABC News referenced – “My Muslim faith.”

It was you who gave $100 million in U.S. taxpayer funds to re-build foreign mosques.

It was you who wrote that in the event of a conflict -“I will stand with the Muslims.”

It was you who assured the Egyptian Foreign Minister that – “I am a Muslim.”

It was you who bowed in submission before the Saudi King.

It was you who sat for 20 years in a Liberation Theology Church condemning Christianity and professing Marxism.

It was you who exempted Muslims from penalties under Obamacare that the rest of us have to pay.

It was you who purposefully omitted – “endowed by our Creator” – from your recitation of The Declaration Of Independence.

It was you who mocked the Bible and Jesus Christ’s Sermon On The Mount while repeatedly referring to the ‘HOLY’ Quran.

It was you who traveled the Islamic world denigrating the United States Of America.

It was you who instantly threw the support of your administration behind the building of the Ground Zero Victory mosque overlooking the hallowed crater of the World Trade Center.

It was you who refused to attend the National Prayer Breakfast, but hastened to host an Islamic prayer breakfast at the WH.

It was you who ordered Georgetown Univ. and Notre Dame to shroud all vestiges of Jesus Christ BEFORE you would agree to go there to speak, but in contrast, you have NEVER requested that the mosques you have visited adjust their decor.

It was you who appointed anti-Christian fanatics to your Czar Corps.

It was you who appointed rabid Islamists to Homeland Security.

It was you who said that NASA’s “foremost mission” was an outreach to Muslim communities.

It was you who as an Illinois Senator was the ONLY individual who would speak in favor of infanticide.

It was you who were the first President not to give a Christmas Greeting from the WH, and went so far as to hang photos of Chairman Mao on the WH tree.

It was you who curtailed the military tribunals of all Islamic terrorists.

It was you who refused to condemn the Ft. Hood killer as an Islamic terrorist.

It is you who has refused to speak-out concerning the horrific executions of women throughout the Muslim culture, but yet, have submitted Arizona to the UN for investigation of hypothetical human-rights abuses.

It was you who when queried in India refused to acknowledge the true extent of radical global Jihadists, and instead profusely praised Islam in a country that is 82% Hindu and the victim of numerous Islamic terrorists assaults.

It was you who funneled $900 Million in U.S. taxpayer dollars to Hamas.

It was you who ordered the USPS to honor the MUSLIM holiday with a new commemorative stamp.

It was you who directed our UK Embassy to conduct outreach to help “empower” the British Muslim community.

It was you who embraced the fanatical Muslim Brotherhood in your quest to overthrow the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak.

It was you who funded mandatory Arabic language and culture studies in Grammar schools across our country.

It is you who follows the Muslim custom of not wearing any form of jewelry during Ramadan.

It is you who departs for Hawaii over the Christmas season so as to avoid past criticism for NOT participating in seasonal WH religious events.

It was you who was un-characteristically quick to join the chorus of the Muslim Brotherhood to depose Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, formerly America’s strongest ally in North Africa; but, remain muted in your non-response to the Brotherhood led slaughter of Egyptian Christians.

It was you who appointed your chief adviser, Valerie Jarrett, an Iranian, who is a member of the Muslim Sisterhood, an off-shoot of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The above provides the basis for virtually everything Obama does. There are more examples, but one deadly fact, the Obama administration called the murders of Nidal Hassan ‘work place violence’ and never uttered a word at the beheading of the woman in Oklahoma by a Muslim.

 

 

The Word Police in Media Deny Judges Op-Eds

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Right on the Department of Homeland Security website, it appears that the term ‘illegal alien’ is acceptable. Curiously, the Department of Justice uses ‘unlawful aliens’.

So, rather than solve the bigger issue, the matter gets bogged down in political correctness and terminology objections?

Ex-judges bolt legal journal over ban on term ‘illegal alien’

FNC: A pair of veteran immigration judges have left a widely read legal journal over its ban on the term “illegal alien,” calling the decision a case of the “political correctness word police” taking control of the immigration debate.

Retired U.S. Immigration Court judges Mahlon “Mick” Hanson and Elizabeth Hacker, who wrote opinion articles for Law360’s “expert analysis” section since the beginning of this year, say they used the term “illegal alien” without issue. But when they submitted an article in July on sanctuary cities, the editors of the publication declined to publish it unless certain changes were made, including the removal of the term illegal alien.

“Language must conform to Law360 style, avoiding what is perceived to be derogatory reference to ‘illegal aliens,'” Christian Lewis, assistant managing editor of Law360, wrote in a July 30 email to Dale Wilcox of the Immigration Reform Law Institute, who was submitting the piece on behalf of the judges because they are IRLI board members.

“The only legally correct term is ‘illegal alien.'”

– Retired US Immigration Judge Mahlon Hanson

“I understand based on the authors’ June 10 article that they believe this is a semantic argument, however our publication does follow the rule that ‘illegal’ applies to actions, not individuals,” Lewis wrote.

Law360 — a subscription, legal news source which boasts a readership of 400,000 and is operated by the Portfolio Media company, a subsidiary of LexisNexis — first suggested the judges change the language to “undocumented alien” and then “unauthorized alien.” In addition, Lewis questioned the sources used by the seasoned immigration jurists in writing their piece, which roundly criticized sanctuary cities following the July 1 murder of 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle. Francisco Sanchez, an illegal alien, is accused of killing Steinle, who was shot while walking with her father in San Francisco. Sanctuary cities are communities that have an official policy of not cooperating with federal authorities in the detention of illegal immigrants or handing them over for deportation.

The judges said they were “shocked” by the editorial board’s insistence the term not be used — noting the Immigration & Nationality Act and its various amendments use “illegal alien,” as do judges presiding over immigration law cases nationwide. A LexisNexis search of the term’s use in case law generates thousands of examples.

Hanson and Hacker said they trimmed their article at the editors’ request and clarified their sources, but refused to resubmit the piece with language they deemed legally incorrect.

“I was, quite frankly, very surprised,” Hacker told FoxNews.com. “We had submitted several other articles to them on immigration-related issues and had used that term, which we consider to be the legally correct term.”

“I don’t want to use inappropriate language, which in my opinion is designed to deceive people as to the state of affairs in the immigration area,” Hacker said.

“The only legally correct term is ‘illegal alien,'” added Hanson.

In an email to FoxNews.com, Law360 explained that it is simply complying with The Associated Press guidelines for journalists. In 2013, the AP dropped the use of the word “illegal” to describe a person who enters or resides in a country in violation of civil or criminal law.

“Like many other news organizations, Law360 follows Associated Press style on the use of the term “illegal immigrant,” Cat Fredenburgh, editor-in-chief of Law360, said in the email. “Per AP, Law360 uses the term ‘illegal’ to refer only to actions, not people. Law360 requires all third-party contributors to comply with our style guidelines.

“Hon. Elizabeth Hacker and Hon. Mahlon Hanson submitted an article for publication with Law360 but withdrew the article upon learning of Law360’s policy against the use of the term ‘illegal’ to refer to people,” Fredenburgh said. “We did not ban the judges from writing for Law360. In fact, we suggested ways the article could still be published while complying with our style. The judges’ decision to withdraw the article from consideration with Law360 was theirs alone.”

The editorial board’s style change — and the reason for it — did nothing to persuade the judges to resubmit their piece.

“I think it’s basically a propaganda tool when The Associated Press is starting to tell reporters what term to use,” Hanson said.

“It’s really disappointing because they advertise themselves as a trusted legal resource,” he said of the law publication. “You know how definitions are important in court cases in using the precise legal terminology…I was surprised that they pushed it to that extent.”

In an Op-Ed published Thursday for FoxNews.com, Hacker and Hanson blamed the Obama administration and other factors for changing the terms of the illegal immigration debate to push an agenda.

“This administration, a compliant media and the ‘political correctness’ word police have taken control of the immigration debate with an agenda of deception, doublespeak and censorship.”

Of the term “undocumented immigrant,” Hacker and Hanson said it is “factually incorrect because many of the aliens illegally present in this country have documents.”

“These documents may range from those unlawfully obtained, like Social Security cards or Social Security numbers, fraudulent drivers licenses, or other documents legally obtained such as ‘cedulas’ or driver’s licenses,” they said. “Also, the term ‘immigrant’ only applies to a person who has either legally entered the United States as a lawful permanent resident or has been adjusted to that status while in the United States.”