The Justice Department reportedly told its employees to no longer use the term “undocumented” immigrant, a term the DOJ said was not in U.S. law.
“The word 'undocumented' is not based in US code and should not be used to describe someone's illegal presence in the country,” the department said in an agency-wide email, according to CNN.
In the email, the department told employees to instead use the term “illegal alien” in documents like press releases.
“PIOs [public information officers] should follow definitions in 8 U.S. Code § 1101 to describe status,” the DOJ said.
It continued:
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 determine whether to detain a defendant, they should be referred to as an “illegal alien.”
The DOJ also instructed employees to identify an immigrant's country of citizenship if their legal status was unknown:
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 describe 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 terms “illegal immigrant” and “illegal alien” have provoked criticism from many who saw their use as inappropriate.
The Associated Press style guide, which many media outlets abide by, updated its style guide in 2013 to remove “illegal” as a way to modify an immigrant.
