No Human Being is “Illegal”

The federal government, led by President Biden, and in stark contrast with the prior administration, has eliminated the term “illegal alien” from government communications. This change is long overdue and reflects what most immigration professors (myself included) teach our students. The term “alien” is a legal term of art, used unfortunately, in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the federal law governing immigration. ‘Illegal alien” however, is not used in the INA with one small exception of a 1996 statute. The term has been used at times by the Supreme Court, but primarily by politicians, and in the media, to refer to people in the U.S. without authorization either because they overstayed a visa, or entered without permission. 

The change will not change enforcement of the law, but is an important rhetorical shift away from demonizing noncitizens. The government has said that the preferred terms will be “noncitizen,” “undocumented noncitizen,” or “undocumented individual.” These are the terms that I have consistently used with my clients, and in teaching. Hopefully hearts and minds will shift, even if subconsciously, and our country can embrace its core values of diversity and equality.