Sen. Chris Murphy says 'chain migration' is a made-up term; Oh, and it's racist too

Never mind the fact that plenty of Democrats have used the term themselves in debating immigration policy: party leaders are now trying to add “chain migration” to the Big Book of Forbidden Words. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut was up to bat Saturday:

Reminder: "chain migration" is a made up term by the hardline anti-immigration crowd. Its purpose is to dehumanize immigrants. If you're using that word, you're declaring a side.

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 27, 2018

Hmm … so what if you say that you’re all for chain migration? What side does that land you on?

The MSM uses it https://t.co/IRIMZP0tes

— JoyBells (@dannajoy) January 27, 2018

They certainly do.

Or….it's a term that's been used for over 60 years by people who study immigration.https://t.co/m93vhn39ln https://t.co/5MErMWhia3

— Drew McCoy (@_Drew_McCoy_) January 27, 2018

Chain migration is a term that has been in use for over 70 years, and has been studied by a wide spectrum of ideology, by serious academics and institutions that study immigration. https://t.co/gDS62gJBu1

— Eric Demamp (@ericdemamp) January 27, 2018

Those serious academics must all be racists then. As Sen. Dick Durbin explained, the words chain migration are painful to many people, particularly African-Americans who migrated to America in chains. It turns out a lot of people bought into that line:

And it's racist. https://t.co/EflaDfw4v2

— Dan Adamsky (@DanAdamsky) January 27, 2018

Reporters shouldn't quote Republicans using the phrase "chain migration" without adding this context: it is a nativist term deployed to heighten white anxieties by painting longstanding family reunification policies as a demographic doomsday machine.

— Daniel Denvir (@DanielDenvir) January 26, 2018

For the record, the preferred term is “family reunification” — as in, “Surprisingly, the illegal immigrant self-deported in the name of family reunification.”

the terms we all should be using are "family reunification" and/or "family-sponsored preference immigration" ✨ https://t.co/nEuuHdFGBR

— thankful shrimp boi ✨??✨ (@geoffwithasword) January 27, 2018

https://twitter.com/AWomansVoice23/status/957375537521025024

The term is "family reunification." People who say chain migration are declaring themselves to be anti-family. https://t.co/MplfGpVMny

— Linda Morris Kelley (@lmmkelley) January 27, 2018

OK, reporters, you’re all on notice.

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