Prince William County Supervisor Kenny Boddye: “I am disgusted by the White House’s new ‘Aliens’ website.”

Utterly pathetic, but sadly not surprising from this horrible White House:

“THEY WALK AMONG US,” declares a new White House webpage in large, luminous green letters against a dark starry background. Above the title is the word “DECLASSIFIED.”

The website, aliens.gov, continues to talk about the threat of “aliens” with the opening credits of The X-Files playing in the background, spitting out one letter at a time: “they do not belong here … Countless presidents, congressmen, and senior officials knew exactly what was happening. Instead of protecting American citizens, they chose to cover it up.”

But the site isn’t about extraterrestrials or alien encounters, even though President Trump had released more government files about possible extraterrestrial encounters days before. “These ‘Aliens’ are the millions of ILLEGALS…Deport them all,” it says. “THEY WEREN’T LITTLE GREEN MEN.”

My thoughts on this are mostly unprintable, so let’s give Prince William County Supervisor Kenny Boddye the floor for this one:

I am disgusted by the White House’s new “Aliens” website.

Not surprised. But disgusted.

The site dresses up immigration enforcement in UFO-themed language and imagery, using “they walk among us” style fearmongering to turn immigrants into something strange, suspicious, and less than human.

That is not clever. It is not funny. It is not harmless political branding.

It is othering.

And othering is dangerous.

I serve in Prince William County; the most diverse county in Virginia and one of the most diverse in the nation. Roughly one in five of our residents is an immigrant. Our neighbors are from El Salvador, India, Korea, Ghana, Vietnam, Mexico, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Honduras, Pakistan, Bolivia, and so many other places. They are parents, teachers, nurses, small business owners, students, veterans, caregivers, faith leaders, public servants, and friends.

I also grew up in Los Angeles, where my formative years were shaped by the mosaic of immigrant cultures that made my community richer, warmer, more creative, and more alive.

So when the federal government uses its official platform to make immigrants sound like invaders hiding among us, I take that personally.

Yes, we need an immigration system that is orderly, humane, and accountable. Yes, public safety matters. Yes, laws matter.

But none of that requires cruelty. None of that requires dehumanization. None of that requires turning families and neighbors into props for a grotesque political spectacle.

History is full of warnings about what happens when leaders tell people that a group of human beings does not belong, cannot be trusted, and should be feared.

We should listen to those warnings.

In Prince William County, our diversity is not a threat. It is part of our strength.

And I will not stay silent while this administration tries to train Americans to see immigrants as something other than people.

Very well said, as always, by Kenny Boddye; sums up my feelings about this perfectly.