Undocumented

An undocumented immigrant is a person with a continued residence in the United States without official immigration authorization.

In the United States, there are approximately 11 million people who can be categorized in this group. A group of people who have become politicized and, as a result, have been referred to by a variety of labels such as “illegal immigrants” or “illegal aliens.”

These labels intentionally place an emphasis on the word “illegal” to underscore the alleged legal violation that took place. But at best “illegal” is a misleading description, and in many cases may even be incorrect. Let’s look at three reasons why we should stop using the word “illegal” to describe the 11 million people who have come to the United States.

The first reason we should stop using the word “illegal” is because it dehumanizes the people who are coming into the United States. It is not welcoming, but instead sends the message that immigrants are subhuman and undeserving. And it’s used as a long-term strategy to criminalize millions of people based on race and ethnicity alone, which can lead to discrimination and violence.

The second reason the word “illegal” shouldn’t be used is because it is often racially charged. The common use of the derogatory word toward immigrants, and especially immigrants of color, affects attitudes, fuels racial profiling and is deliberatively divisive.

The third reason we should use other words than “illegal” to refer to immigrants is that it is legally inaccurate. The word “illegal” unlawfully assumes guilt. It blankets all cases with connotations of criminality, but different cases are treated differently under the law. For example, living in the U.S. without authorization, such as overstaying a visa but entering the country legally, is a civil but not a criminal offense.

SO, WHAT SHOULD WE SAY INSTEAD?

In 2013, the Associated Press (AP) changed its stylebook to no longer sanction the use of “illegal immigrant” on the ground that “illegal” should only describe an action but not a person. This represented an important shift due to the many newspapers and news outlets that follow the AP’s style recommendations. This change was consistent with other practices of rejecting labels (for instance, saying someone is “diagnosed with schizophrenia” rather than “schizophrenic”).

Instead of “illegal immigrant” or “illegal alien,” the AP suggests “living in or entering a country illegally” or “without legal permission.” These phrases place the emphasis back on the action taken by an immigrant rather than on the person and help to diffuse some of the racially charged implications.

The terms we use to label groups of people matter.

Other terms that can be used instead of “illegal” are “undocumented immigrant” and “unauthorized immigrant.” Though neither of these terms are exactly precise or free from value judgements, they’re an improvement over the negative and politicized terms that use “illegal.”

Whether we use “undocumented immigrant” or “unauthorized immigrant,” the broader lesson is that the terms we use to label groups of people matter. And it is difficult to refer to a large group, especially a group as large as 11 million people, with purely neutral and impartial descriptions. Though difficult, we should continually strive to describe our world, and the people in it, accurately, fairly and with dignity.