AP bans term 'illegal immigrant'; Detroit non-citizen says it's past due

Gus Burns | By Gus Burns |
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on April 04, 2013 at 7:20 AM, updated April 04, 2013 at 7:45 AM
IMG_3084[1].JPG Sergio Martinez, 25, a Mexican immigrant, talks about how U.S. immigration law has impacted his family at St. Gabriel Church in Detroit.  
DETROIT — The Associated Press announced this week it is nixing use of the term "illegal immigrant" to identify U.S. residents without citizenship.

The AP, which sets the language and grammar standards for many journalists, says the term is imprecise in that it defines a person as illegal, rather than their actions or the status of their residence.

"The Stylebook no longer sanctions the term 'illegal immigrant' or the use of 'illegal' to describe a person," said AP Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Kathleen Carrol. "Instead, it tells users that 'illegal' should describe only an action, such as living in or immigrating to a country illegally."

Sergio Martinez, a 25-year-old Detroit resident from Mexico who doesn't have U.S. citizenship, said he approves.

"I definitely felt like it was very derogatory and created a stigma for immigrants," he said.

Martinez was born in Mexico City. His family, including his brother, who was 6-months-old at the time, emigrated to the U.S. when Martinez was 5. His parents did so illegally.

Martinez says the term "illegal immigrant" lumps people like himself and his brother, who were minors when they came to the U.S., in with those who intentionally violated immigration laws.

Being that journalists like nice, tight terminology to express thoughts, there's a conundrum as to how they should concisely refer to residents without citizenship.

Martinez says he feels "undocumented" is acceptable, because it's true they are without proper citizenship documents.

But the AP disagrees. It previously banned use of "undocumented immigrant" because it's "not precise" and "a person may have plenty of documents, just not the ones required for legal residence."

Do you agree with the AP decision? Is the term "illegal immigrant" inaccurate, derogatory or offensive?