Our Story Monday about and undocumented immigrant dying in a crash -- http://bit.ly/fjOtee -- brought a host of comments. I have included them below.

Interesting to note that many were questioning what to call someone who is allegedly in this country illegally.

We had the same debate on the desk last night.

AP style says avoid calling such people "aliens" and I can see that. Makes me think of little green men.

But there is a much larger debate that seems to be tangled in the bigger debate about what to do with all the people who are in this country without proper documentation.

Those who advocate deportation would like to call them "illegal, or illegal immigrant . Those who say let them stay advocate just "immigrant" or "undocumented immigrant."

The OP does not want to come down in favor of either side in this debate -- at least not in the news pages -- and so we settled for both "illegal immigrant" in the headline and "undocumented immigrant" in the story.

What do you think? Add your comments below or go to our Facebook page and let us know.





hoss wrote on Apr 4, 2011 3:44 PM:
" Whatss an 'undocumented immigrant'? "



128712 wrote on Apr 4, 2011 4:44 PM:
" How about illegal instead of undocumented.
Just how PC do we need to be. He came into
our country illegally period. "


pattyz wrote on Apr 4, 2011 5:20 PM:
" Sad for anyone but the alcoholic did save expense for deportation officers, he must have taken a wrong turn at about 80 mph. I'm glad he did'nt harm or kill anyone, just himself. "


WasteWatcher wrote on Apr 4, 2011 8:55 PM:
" Agreed pattyz, at least he didn't harm a citizen and took the initiative to remove himself from our population instead of forcing ICE to do it.

Unnecessary loss of life is tragic but I have a very hard time being overly sensitive when ILLEGAL ALIENS (not undocumented immigrants) befall hardships in OUR country.

Each and every illegal alien needs to be reported to ICE. If you're a patriotic American then get involved instead of turning a blind eye or saying "that's someone else's problem". If you're fed up with our country being overrun with illegal aliens do something about it, if you know where illegals are working or residing contact the authorities NOW!:

Detroit Field Office
333 Mt. Elliott St.
Detroit, MI 48207
Phone: (313) 568-6049

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
866-347-2423
1-866-DHS-2ICE "

panola60 wrote on Apr 5, 2011 2:24 AM:
" The road signs in the picture say "Bridge Out" and "Bridge Closed". I would think being able to read our Road Signs would be required to drive a car. Do the majority of illegal alien criminals read English? "


Joe USA wrote on Apr 5, 2011 5:53 AM:
" This is our road job tax money at work. "


rd rge wrote on Apr 5, 2011 6:47 AM:
" maybe we are not being PC enough we should start putting spanish above the english writing on the road signs NOT!!!! "


Turd Ferguson wrote on Apr 5, 2011 8:08 AM:
" Due to this "accident", I won't be surprised to see spanish written on the construction signs...

Wow, what has this country come to... "


Sherlock Homes wrote on Apr 5, 2011 8:09 AM:
" Illegal, Drunk, and Stupid...Nuff said. "


mercantilist wrote on Apr 5, 2011 9:08 AM:
" A human life is accepted to have value – even those that are involved in ongoing crime.
I expect that their will be law suits. Perhaps, the lack of Spanish on the road signs will be a factor. Feiger law is probably in action now. Some crimes are the results of spur of the moment decisions or even procrastination. Much immigration crime is occurs after some planning. Interviews with border agents show that it not uncommon for those illegals coming from countries not adjacent to our borders to spend $15,000 - $20,000 for illegal entry. Illegals from China, India and elsewhere in Asia also pay large transportation costs as well as smuggling fees. Tax payers and and American workers are injured by illegal immigration so immigration crime is not victimless as well as premeditated. The behavior by politicians such as Carl Levin that encourage violation of immigration law through rewards (amnesties) and support of local governments (say New York) that refuse to assist IMS is particularly reprehensible. These politicians are essentially announcing it is fine to ignore laws that you do not like.
It is reasonable to believe that he was working or at some point working. It is likely that some "good citizen" employer chose to violate the to hire the illegal either because they do not obey laws of their choosing or because there was an illegal buck to be made. Again there is a need for mandatory use of E-verify by employers. For employers the use of E-verify should provide a defense from prosecution should immigration find that they are hiring illegals. Since the numbers of illegals working in Michigan is at most in the low hundreds of thousands, some argue that mandatory E-verify is not needed. Of course, when the numbers are in the high hundreds of thousands or millions the same voices will argue that the problem is too big to solve by enforcement. "


go813 wrote on Apr 5, 2011 9:08 AM:
" This article should call attention more to the drunk driving aspect than that he was undocumented. This man's family lost a son/brother, maybe husband/brother... Very sad... Thank goodness no one else was hit. "


mercantilist wrote on Apr 5, 2011 9:25 AM:
" I commend the Oakland Press for reporting the immigration status of the deceased. One of the benefits of news stories is that they provide information (some times personal) that are relevent to public policy discussion. So the immigration status of the convicted killer of Sandra Levy was relevent (if frequently not presented). Learning from isolated events occurs- even if it is far less efficient that learning from carefully designed statistical studies. "


Kablam wrote on Apr 5, 2011 9:27 AM:
" Will AG Holder sue Obummer due to the sign not being in spanish? "


dabigdog wrote on Apr 5, 2011 9:35 AM:
" Since he was illegal, his family should be forced to pay for the police and fire services. "

resident11 wrote on Apr 5, 2011 10:19 AM:
" Someone claiming to be his family will be calling lee free, or sam, again, looking for something for nothing! We should never allow aliens in the US that cannot speak English! How bout, we never allow aliens here period! We would sure be better off! "


Estebell wrote on Apr 5, 2011 10:46 AM:
" One less. His family is probably ILLEGAL too - they gotta go. BUT like Resident11 said, they will call Jeffery Fieger and be awarded millions. It's the American way. "


Dr. Leo Marvin wrote on Apr 5, 2011 10:52 AM:
" Wonder if Sheriff Alligator Bouchard will hold a press conference and say he was part of the "South American Drug Cartel" that came up here to make the big bucks by growing 12 plants...? "


eyerock wrote on Apr 5, 2011 11:37 AM:
" Leo, one thing about me is that I am anything but a hypocrite, I remain consistent in my beliefs, unlike you and your multiple personalities. "


eyerock wrote on Apr 5, 2011 11:55 AM:
" Many of the comments posted on the OP site demonstrate a fundamental lack of intelligence or intellectual curiosity on behalf of those posting.
The dumbing down of America is evidently a larger issue than I first believed.
If the powers that be (Walmart, Tyson, Home Depot, Koch Industries and many, many others), and local companies involved in landscaping, food harvesting and processing, maintenance, etc. would NOT HIRE illegals for their own selfish reasons (increased profits), there would be NO illegals. Policies have been in place for many years to keep the doors open to the flood of illegals as a source for low cost labor. Now the spin doctors controlling the media (that you buy in to) want to blame the illegals for all the problems OUR country is experiencing so that you don't examine the real issues that are sucking OUR once great country down the toilet.
And yes, now I feel better. "