AP Drops "Illegal Immigrants"

There are no more illegal immigrants in the stories of the Associated Press. Instead, there are "Immigrants living in the state illegally", "people who can't prove citizenship", and "people living in the state without documentation". At least, those are some of the circumlocutions showing up in an article in Oregon.

Why? Because the AP has banned the use of the term "illegal immigrant". They object to the part that says "illegal". They say illegal "should describe only an action" in violation of the law. Like crossing into this country illegally.

James Taranto, on the other hand, notes that the people in question are, in fact, here illegally. He objects to the "immigrant" part of the term, noting that it's not clear all these folks intend to "take up permanent residence", a key part of the definition of the term "immigrant".

I would go a bit further. I note the Pew poll, according to which a large fraction of the people here illegally — perhaps the majority — really do not intend or want to be come permanent residents or U.S. citizens. These individuals are here illegally. And they are aliens — not U.S. citizens — as U.S. citizens would be in Mexico or India or Europe or wherever else outside our own country. Thus, the proper term for them is "illegal aliens". Even "illegal immigrants" is an obfuscation and a concession to political correctness. And Senator Chuck Schumer's (D-NY) insistence that they are "undocumented citizens" is a complete abomination.

Of course, none of this deals with the reason the Obama Administration is favoring amnesty and open borders. They clearly agree with Jay Leno that the people in question are really "undocumented Democrats".