Washington Post ombudsman Andrew Alexander uncorked a surprising sentence in his Sunday column on his newspaper's terminology in immigration-policy stories:
A review of Post terminology in stories during the second half of 2010 shows that "undocumented immigrant" was used about six times more frequently than "illegal immigrant."
Most journalists use "illegal immigrant" despite pressure from Hispanic activists, both inside and outside the media. (They often avoid the term "illegal alien.") Alexander argued the Post "would be wise to join the discussion over the best vocabulary, even if it ended up reinforcing its current directives." He acknowledged that choosing terms can be choosing sides: "Those that abandoned 'illegal immigrant,' for example, surely would be accused of softening the jargon to favor advocates of less restrictive immigration laws."
Alexander let both sides of the divide speak on terminology. Alexander cited the lobbying of Leo Laurence at the Society of Professional Journalists, and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists:
"We prefer 'undocumented immigrant,' " said Michele Salcedo, president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. She said that many people enter the United States legally documented but "for one reason or another they overstay their visa limit and become 'undocumented,' as it were." The term "undocumented" is "more inclusive and accurate," said Salcedo, an editor in the Washington bureau of the Associated Press.
She also agreed with Laurence that calling someone "illegal" is a judgment that courts, not journalists, should make. "In this country, if you are accused of a crime, whether it's a misdemeanor or a felony, you're entitled to your day in court," she said.
But the border-control side also was interviewed:
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports tighter controls on immigration, rejects "undocumented" as "gibberish." Many foreigners enter with forged or stolen documents, he said, adding: "You could call them 'falsely documented,' but then you get into really unwieldy terminology."
He also said it is "sophistry" to argue that the term "illegal immigrant" can be used only after a formal legal judgment. "Getting a parking ticket isn't a crime. But it's illegal," he said.
Krikorian also thinks illegal "alien" is acceptable, noting that federal statutes use that word to refer to foreigners who entered unlawfully, as well as those here legally on a so-called "green card." Most mainstream news organizations, including The Post, forbid using "alien" on grounds that secondary dictionary definitions include pejorative words like "strange." Likewise, The Post and others prohibit using "illegal" as a noun ("he's an illegal").
..."The trouble is that when you start trying to come up with alternatives, they're all problematic," said Roy Beck, a former journalist and founder of NumbersUSA, a group that favors limiting legal and illegal immigration. He said even the term "immigrant" is often misused when applied to those who come legally on a temporary worker visa.
Beck said a substitute for "illegal immigrant" might be the more cumbersome "unlawfully present foreign national."
That is cumbersome, and simply unnecessary.
[Image of Carlos Montano, illegal immigrant/drunk driver who killed a nun in Prince William County, Virginia]
