Submitted by Thomas, Jan 14, 2008 07:29

Sure, immigrants can vote, once they are naturalized. The actual text of the law uses the terms "alien" to refer to a non-US citizen or national. The law uses the term "immigrant" as a sub-category of alien. You appear to be reading the word in light of its legal definition. It is not surprising, however, that a reporter would use the term "immigrant" in the broader coloquial sense of foreign-born resident. After all, just because you naturalize doesn't mean your ethnic and cultural heritage as a Pole, Pakistani, or Paraguayan evaporates. When you naturalize, your loyalties and obligations formally change, not your origins.

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