Why “Fake News” Outlets Use “Undocumented” Instead of “Illegal”

(Chuck Muth) – For those wondering why so many news stories across the spectrum use the term “undocumented immigrant” instead of the more-accurate “illegal immigrant,” you can blame the Associated Press.

A reporter I regularly communicate with sent me the following guidelines issued by AP which most reporters rely on when writing their articles…

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Illegal Immigration: Entering or living in a country without authorization in violation of civil or criminal law.

Except in direct quotations essential to the story, use illegal only to refer to an action, not a person: illegal immigration, but not illegal immigrant.

Acceptable variations include living in or entering a country illegally or without legal permission. For people: immigrants lacking permanent legal status. The European Union and some U.N. agencies use the term irregular migration; that term is acceptable in areas where it is commonly used. Do not use irregular migrants.

When space is a consideration, such as in a headline, simply migrant(s) or immigrant(s) is acceptable as long as the context is clear in the first few paragraphs of the story.

Do not use the terms alien, unauthorized immigrant, irregular migrant, an illegal, illegals or undocumented (except when quoting people or government documents that use these terms). Many immigrants have some sort of documents, but not the necessary ones.

In the U.S., the Biden administration has replaced the word alien in government documents with noncitizen. Limit use of the term, which can be misleading: Noncitizen makes no distinction between those who have legal status and those who don’t. Many people are in the country with legal status, such as green-card holders, people on student visas, tourists and temporary workers. Do not use the term alien.

Do not describe without attribution people as violating immigration laws.

Specify wherever possible how someone entered the country illegally and from where. Crossed the border? Overstayed a visa? What nationality?

Consider carefully when deciding whether a person’s immigration status is relevant to a story. Often such decisions should involve discussions with managers. Include immigration status only when it is relevant and that relevance is explicit in the story.

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Now you know why so many stories in the mainstream press misinform readers about illegal immigrants.