Justice Department Ends Use of Term 'Undocumented' Instead of 'Illegal Alien'

... The misleading “undocumented” term was favored by President Barack Obama’s pro-migration deputies, but President Donald Trump’s agency officials instead will use the term set by federal law — “illegal alien.”

The language shift policy will help journalists and voters quickly recognize when suspected criminals are foreigners, and will make it more difficult for media editors, progressives or business groups to hide the civic impact of cheap-labor migration.

The policy is set out in an agency statement, which says that public information officers:

should follow definitions in 8 U.S. § 1101 to describe status. Specifically, when a defendant’s illegal presence in the U.S. is an established fact in the public record, or when it has been provided to the court to help it determine whether to detain a defendant, they should be referred to as an ‘illegal alien” …

The word “undocumented” is not based in U.S. code, and should not be used to describe someone’s illegal presence in the country. If an alien is legally present in the U.S., or that alien’s legal status in the U.S. is unknown, unclear, or absent from the public record at the time a press release is being issued, it is appropriate to describe their country of citizenship, such as “Canadian National Convicted of Human Trafficking.” They should be described according to their citizenship, not their city or state of residence. For instance, “a Honduran citizen residing in Toledo” is correct. “Toledo Man” doesn’t accurately describe his residency.

The new policy was unveiled by CNN, and it follows the law also by not distinguishing legal resident aliens — or green-card holders — from U.S. citizens:

All individuals having U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent resident status in the U.S. should be described as a resident. For instance “Ohio Man, or Miami Resident, etc.” It is permissible to point out in the release what their citizenship or legal status is if it is part of the established factual record.

The new policy is needed to clear away the progressive efforts to hide the identities of illegals whom break the law inside the United States....

CAIRCO Research

Terminology history and usage: alien and illegal alien