Foreigner, Immigrant, Extraterrestrial: How an Old Word Commands the Spotlight

In English, the word “alien” means foreigner, immigrant and extraterrestrial at the same time. Trump and his followers have made “alien” exceptionally popular. The newly elected U.S. president wants to invoke a law from the end of the 18th century that mentions “alien” quite a bit. Analysis by Svetla Encheva.

The year is 2011, the place, Sofia, Bulgaria. In English class, the students are analyzing a song by Sting, “Englishman in New York.” The teacher’s question concerns the chorus: What is the meaning of the verse “I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien.” A 14-year-old student answers with certainty “I’m an extraterrestrial!”

The story is funny, but a 14-year-old Bulgarian teenager could hardly give a different answer. In her life, the word “alien” is associated with television and movies about extraterrestrials such as “ALF,” an abbreviation of Alien Life Form, or the “Alien” franchise.

In the next four years we will encounter the word “alien” in a context that has little to do with extraterrestrials and everything to do with the 18th century.

How the Democrats and Trump Talk about Foreigners

During the campaign for U.S. president, in which Donald Trump prevailed over Kamala Harris, the words and the policies of the Republicans and the Democrats were starkly different.

Immigration was one of the most important issues for voters. When talking about foreigners in the U.S., the Democrats used neutral words such as “immigrants,” “migrants,” or the specific country of origin for a group of foreigners, for example “Haitians.”

At the same time Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and their supporters mostly used the term “illegal aliens.” This can be translated as “illegal foreigners,” but the word “alien” carries the clearly negative connotation of “an other” from a faraway place. And such people, by definition, are unwelcome.

Less than three months after assuming office in 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden directed the two largest immigration agencies in the U.S. to forgo using the word “alien” and to instead employ “migrants” or “non-citizens.” Trump’s focus on using the out-of-favor “alien,” consequently, is a stark reminder of his and his supporters’ disapproval of the Democrats’ immigration policy.

The Meaning of ‘Alien’: From Foreign, through the Movies, to ‘Alienation’

Alien originates from the Latin “alienus” (from “alius” – “other”), which means belonging to another by blood, place of birth, or something else. This is why one of meanings of “alien” is extraterrestrial — alien life forms, by definition, come from somewhere else.

In U.S. law, “alien” has meant “a foreigner” for centuries. While in the past, foreigners (and “others” in general — remember the short story by Jordan Jovkov, “The Other Villager”) by definition were seen as dangerous enemies, with time, the dehumanizing meaning of “alien” has become more and more apparent.

Different attitudes toward foreigners can be seen in the analysis of movies with extraterrestrial characters.

In Steven Spielberg’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” or in “ALF,” for example, beings from other planets are shown to be ultimately good despite being quirky in character and strange in appearance. The native population, especially the government, are the dangerous bad guys. This is, overall, an accepting message toward others.

The “Alien” franchise is on the other end of the spectrum. The alien extraterrestrial being is so terrifying and disgusting that even looking at it is difficult. In movies in which extraterrestrials are bad, representatives of the state (which is usually the U.S. government) perform miracles in order to save humanity from the bad alien.

In addition to foreigners, immigrants and extraterrestrials, the word “alien” is also related to estrangement. Members of the Frankfurt School translated a word from Karl Marx’s early writings, “Entfremdung” (literally, estrangement) as “alienation.” That is how alienation became a popular term in the social sciences.

‘Make America Great Again’ … with a Law from 1798

The slogan, an unofficial synonym for Trumpism, is “Make America Great Again,” abbreviated as MAGA. It implies that America was great, but that greatness is in the past and must be restored.

In his campaign for a second term, Trump escalated the dehumanization of “illegal aliens” to its logical conclusion. Since foreigners lack all things human, it is natural that they become beasts who consume people’s pets.

Trump’s campaign promises include the mass deportation of 20 million immigrants (it is unclear if that many deportable immigrants can be found), as well as invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a year in which, according to Trump, the U.S. was perhaps greater than it is now.

This law describes deportable foreigners as hailing from countries that are enemies of the U.S. At first it included only men, but after 1918, it included everyone. It was used during World War I, as well as World War II: After the bombardment of Pearl Harbor in 1941, 120,000 U.S. citizens with Japanese ancestry were put in internment camps.

Invoking a Law That Was Never Repealed

This favorite law of Trump was never repealed. To this day, it is on the books: U.S. Code Title 50, Chapter 3 – ALIEN ENEMIES.

Should Trump decide to invoke it, he could have carte blanche to deport Chinese residents, for example, as he believes China to be a primary enemy of the U.S. Or Cubans, even though Cubans fervently vote Republican because they have escaped a communist country and believe that “Democrats are communists.”

It is unclear, however, if Trump can deport the evil Haitians as Haiti has no functioning government that can be declared a U.S. enemy. It is the same with Mexico — the two countries have traditionally friendly political and economic relations.

All of this leads to the question of whether the U.S. president-elect truly understands the law he has promised to invoke. Or whether he wants to declare all immigrants as “enemies” and thus legitimize their deportation.

We are about to find out whether Trump will keep his promise to deport every illegal immigrant in the U.S., plus some of the legal ones as well. And, if he does, see the broader effects of depriving the U.S. economy of cheap labor.

It is certain, however, that in the next four years, foreigners will be described as aliens more and more, including in Bulgaria. The image of foreigners in the public eye will continue to become less and less human — which will be fertile ground for xenophobic incidents.

After four years, Bulgarian teenagers are not likely to translate Sting’s “I’m a legal alien” as “I’m an extraterrestrial.” But, perhaps, they might ask — why would Sting insult himself? And do “legal aliens” even exist?