Didn’t You Get the Memo? They’re now “New Americans.”

Each New Year’s Day since 1978, the Washington Post has published its “What’s In-What’s Out” list for the benefit of fashionable elites obsessed with being properly informed of the newest trends, products, celebrities, cultural “norms,” and politically correct terms. This year it’s quite likely that list will suggest jettisoning the current term “undocumented immigrants” – one that euphemistically replaced “illegal aliens” years ago – in favor of “New Americans.”

“New Americans” is a term that has traditionally and rightfully defined legal immigrants who have responsibly chosen to become full-fledged…and pledged…United States citizens. Yet now that same term is quickly gaining ubiquity in the left’s lexicon as a one-size-fits-all term that erases any reference to legality. By tweaking the language, anyone entering the country illegally, or making dubious asylum claims to gain a foothold is now increasingly known as a “New American,” — which of course dilutes the cherished premise of citizenship and discourages any effort to attain it.

At least the left’s old term — and this is damning with extremely faint praise — included a descriptive adjective, “undocumented.”

The trend is spreading quickly, but changing the language is only a first step. Institutionalizing that change is another tactic and the organization that appears most responsible for both is the Office of New Americans (ONA) State Network. ONA’s stated mission is to “bring together a wide-ranging group of state officials to share best practices in immigrant and refugee integration and act as a critical anchor to help these populations fully integrate into their communities.”

In practice, ONA’s national office promotes the formation of ONA “chapters” at the state and local government levels which then use state funds and personnel to operate them. ONA offices can be housed in agencies like human services or state employment offices, while others are situated directly in governors’ offices. ONA offices coordinate with one another in a consortium to advance illegal alien friendly legislation, determine methods to lobby for federal funds, and most recently, collectively advocate for work permits so that migrants otherwise ineligible to work under law can take jobs from  American citizens and legal immigrants.

ONA’s growth – and its Trojan Horse-style infiltration into all manner of local and state government entities — is notable. The organization has tripled its “local chapters” since 2019 and now has state offices in North Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Illinois, Colorado, Oregon, Minnesota, Michigan, Maine, Ohio, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, California, Washington, Nevada, and Virginia…along with dozens of “junior chapters” in local jurisdictions.

ONA makes no distinction between legal and illegal immigration because, as you know, everyone is simply a “New American.” But this is hardly surprising given that ONA is an arm of the American Immigration Council, which is the policy arm of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, all heavily funded by the open-borders and amnesty-supporting Foundation to Promote Open Society, founded by left-wing billionaire George Soros.

In the midst of the Biden Border Crisis that is swamping state and localities with thousands of migrants, ONA offers illegal alien sanctuary politicians their own sanctuary; a place to hide and the illusion of a solution to a problem of their own making by letting them join a network of other like-minded politicians who provide affirming support. Local politicians then can punt the problem by telling voters, “we opened an office to deal with it.”

In reality, no matter how ONA slices and dices the language, or tries to advance and reward mass immigration through insidious state-level franchising and peer-to-peer support, the only true solution is for local lawmakers to pressure the U.S. government to secure the border while reversing their own failed sanctuary policies.

Note to sanctuary promoting politicians: Misery may love company but ONA is not a good club to join.  It’ll just make your problems worse.