The case of the North Carolina teen suspended for using the term “illegal alien” in class is quickly becoming a cause celebre on the right.
Christian McGhee, 16, was given a three-day out-of-school suspension from Central Davidson High School in Lexington for a question he asked after his English teacher gave a vocabulary assignment that included the word “alien.”
“Christian raised his hand and said, ‘Like space, or illegal aliens who need green cards’?” said Leah McGhee, Christian’s mother, in a Tuesday interview on “The Pete Kaliner Show,” a Charlotte-based podcast.
She said a Hispanic student reacted in class by saying he would beat up Christian. An administrator took the boys into the hallway, where the Hispanic student said he was joking.
An assistant principal suspended Christian on April 9 for making a “racially insensitive comment.” His parents objected, arguing that “illegal alien” is a legally recognized term, but the administrator refused to budge.
“I didn’t make a statement directed towards anyone; I asked a question,” Christian told the Carolina Journal, a publication of the conservative John Locke Foundation.
“I wasn’t speaking of Hispanics because everyone from other countries needs green cards, and the term ‘illegal alien’ is an actual term that I hear on the news and can find in the dictionary,” he said.
Mrs. McGhee said the family previously lived in England, and that Christian is aware green cards are required to live and work in the U.S.
Billionaire Elon Musk called the situation “absurd” on X after reports of the suspension went viral. The Libs of TikTok account said Christian “should not be persecuted for using the correct term just because the left is trying to change our entire language.”
“The federal government uses the expression ‘alien.’ Tell his parents to hire a litigator,” said actor James Woods on X.
Republican attorney Harmeet Dhillon, founder of the Center for American Liberty, said, “If this kid’s family needs a lawyer …”
In fact, Ms. McGhee said they have retained legal counsel, even though “our family is not a hostile family.”
“I feel like we need an attorney to navigate this process as we’ve never been in a situation like this,” she said. “The label of racism in today’s world is so strong, that I feel like we do not need to tackle this giant on our own. So we’ve done it out of excessive precaution.”
One of her concerns is that the suspension could jeopardize Christian’s chances of gaining an athletic scholarship.
The junior is active in track and cross-country, but he was unable to practice with the team during the out-of-school suspension or compete the following weekend.
Mrs. McGhee also said that the teacher and the school principal have been helpful and supportive, but that their hands are tied because Davidson County Schools policy prohibits appealing suspensions of less than 10 days.
“The principal said, ‘I understand what you’re doing in moving forward with the school board, but I am not able to reverse this decision.’ Both the teacher and main principal have returned our phone calls,” she said. “The assistant principal, however, stuck to his guns and said he is not willing to reverse the decision.”
The Washington Times has reached out to Davidson County Schools for comment.
“This is an extreme decision made by them,” Mrs. McGhee said. “Labels such as racism are very dangerous to Christian’s character and reputation. I feel it has been wrongly placed on his record.”
The terms “illegal alien” and “illegal immigrant” have increasingly become verboten on the left.
The Associated Press Stylebook, the widely used journalism standard, barred “illegal immigrant” in 2013, saying actions but not people should be described as illegal.
President Biden said last month he regrets using “illegal” to refer to the illegal immigrant charged with killing 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley, saying he should have used “undocumented.”