We, students at Iowa State, and community members of Iowa, felt compelled to respond to the op-ed column by Ian Nichols, published on Feb. 29. As university students from different countries, races, ethnicities and life experiences, we found his message and commentary to be deeply offensive and demeaning towards people of color and immigrants, both documented and undocumented.

It is our hope that this letter will help initiate an important conversation about how language can stigmatize individuals and perpetuate derogatory images of immigrants.

We believe it is important to critically reflect on the power of words and phrases not out of political correctness but for the political stakes embedded in their use and their affective implications. Collectively, we acknowledge that having conversations about immigration and immigrants is not easy because it is politically charged and complex. With that in mind, we would like to thank Brian Behnken, assistant professor of history, for his recent contribution to the Iowa State Daily clarifying and continuing the conversation on immigration and racialization in the United States.

Many prominent individuals, including former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, have acknowledged that immigrants are critical contributors to the American economy, culture and society.

Yet immigration continues to stir emotions and debates, including how we refer to community members who are undocumented for any number of reasons. Immigrants include doctors that help our families to stay healthy and farm workers that bring food to our tables. At Iowa State, we know that many of our teachers, mentors, staff and classmates come from other countries.

Nevertheless, Nichols makes several claims that are factually incorrect, reflecting carelessness on his part. For example, he asks a question about the voting tendencies of undocumented immigrants. However, he must realize that only people who carry American citizenship are eligible to vote. This disqualifies legal residents and undocumented immigrants. Nichols also regularly conflates immigrants with and without documents.

This is not to say that undocumented immigrants should be stigmatized for their status. On the contrary, it is important to be cognizant of the many reasons people choose to come to the United States, not least of which include the effects of American foreign and economic policy, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement. Furthermore, Nichols has significantly racialized the topic of immigration through comments that most undocumented immigrants are Mexican or Cuban. His comments are inaccurate and most unwelcome, not only because they can easily be construed as racist and discriminatory, but also because they are incredibly unhelpful in dealing with the complexities of immigration.

He fails to recognize that the power of the pen is mighty, and by pontificating commentary that is laden with factual inaccuracies and racist undertones, he has taken the ISU community several steps backwards, not forward.

This is cause for concern as many students of color often feel unsafe and unwelcome at Iowa State simply because of how they look. The continued repetition of racist and aggressive commentary from Daily staff writers worries us and leaves us with the impression they do not understand or take these issues seriously.

What is particularly troubling about Nichols’ article is he carelessly makes incendiary assertions about a broken immigration system using coded language designed explicitly to generate a negative reaction. We invite the Daily to reflect on the ways in which word choice can result in the stigmatization of minority groups on campus and to address this issue expeditiously.