“Illegal” v. “Undocumented”
The View’s Sunny Hostin claims that an illegal alien who killed a nurse in a drunk driving incident is “not illegal” but “undocumented” because “people are not illegal.”
IN FACT, “undocumented” is a deceptive term used to obscure the reality of people violating immigration laws. Here are the specifics:
- Per a 2014 article in a Journal of Legal Writing, “the term ‘illegal alien’” appears 14 times in federal laws, 10 times in federal regulations, and in 57 U.S. Supreme Court opinions, but “some self-appointed language regulators” in the media “now decree that writers who wish to remain members of polite society must not use ‘illegal alien’” but other phrases like “undocumented immigrant.”
- The article further explains that “most people know what ‘illegal alien’ means,” but purveyors of “word games” are trying to “change the political narrative” by using phrases like “undocumented worker,” which “conjures the image” of someone “who forgets to bring his social-security card on his first day of work.”
- Likewise, Garner’s Dictionary of Legal Usage explains that words like “undocumented” are “needless euphemisms” that “should be avoided” because they “strongly” suggest “unaccounted for,” which can “obscure” the fact that these people are “present in a country in violation of the immigration laws (hence ‘illegal’).”
- Certain people allege that it is incorrect to use the term “illegal alien” because “undocumented presence in the U.S. is not a criminal offense,” but Garner’s Dictionary of Legal Usage refutes this argument by noting that “it is wrong to equate illegality with criminality, since many illegal acts are not criminal.”
- In addition to being an attorney, Hostin is a “multi-platform journalist,” and journalism guidelines disparage the use of jargon and call for unambiguous language that plainly conveys reality.
