On March 2, the Associated Press, an internationally referenced news source whose articles reach millions of readers daily, made a landmark decision to eliminate the use of the term “illegal” to describe undocumented immigrants. The AP stylebook will now say that while the action of the individual may be deemed “illegal,” the individuals themselves are not “illegal.” The announcement itself is a product of the increasingly visible struggle of immigrant workers, and comes at a moment in history when the immigrant movement is again stirring.
A product of struggle
The 2006 movement saw undocumented immigrants come out of the shadows and defiantly proclaim “No somos criminales” (We are not criminals). The slogan “No human being is illegal” quickly spread through the movement. The DREAMers and “Undocumented and Unafraid” campaigns have kept the fire burning and the issue in the media, even when the mass movement subsided. These youth showed tremendous courage, risking their own deportation in acts of civil disobedience, and helped put a human face on the communities that politicians and the media have long referred to as “illegals.”
While there is still considerable work to be done, AP’s decision to change their formulation is an indication of the effect that movements can have on popular consciousness. Likewise, exit polls from the 2012 election showed broader support for the legalization of undocumented immigrants than in previous years. The fight against the “illegal” label has been a big part of this.
The civil rights and Black liberation movements, along with the women’s and LGBT movements, went through similar processes, pushing more dignified terminology into popular usage by challenging the implicit bigotry of the old terms.
