November 22, 2011 | 8:00 AM | By

‘Illegal’ Or ‘Undocumented?’

There are a number of ways to refer to immigrants living in the United States without proper authorization, such as undocumented immigrants, illegal aliens and unauthorized immigrants. But which term should be used by media organizations that want to remain objective and avoid the appearance of bias? Our sister blog Multi-American lays out the arguments in the debate over immigration and terminology.


In a recent style update, the Associated Press clarified that it did not sanction the use of “undocumented,” which is frequently used. The AP clarified that it did not use “illegal alien,” “an illegal,” “illegals” or “undocumented,” but that “living in the country without permission” was an acceptable variation.

In response, the magazine ColorLines, published by the social justice think tank the Applied Research Center, had a petition going last week to urge readers to contact the AP directly as the news organization sought input for its 2012 AP Stylebook.

Read more at: multiamerican.scpr.org