Border Agency Returns to Using Term ‘Illegal Alien’

Illegal immigrants who passed through a gap in the U.S. border wall await processing by Border Patrol agents in Jacumba, Calif., on Dec. 7, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

A government directive issued on the first day of the Trump administration indicates that federal agencies have been instructed to use legal terms such as “illegal alien” instead of political euphemisms adopted by the Biden administration.

“Illegal alien is back in,” and terms such as “undocumented” and “non-citizen” are out, a Border Patrol source told The Epoch Times.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) memo, “Requirement to Use Legal, Nonpolitical Terminology,” obtained by The Epoch Times, states that prior guidance on terminology has been revoked.

“It is critical that all U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel diligently perform our statutory mission and all associated duties and functions in a nonpartisan manner,” the Jan. 20 memo states. “As such, effective immediately, all prior guidance related to terminology is revoked. All CBP personnel will use factually accurate, legally established, and recognized terms as they appear in duly enacted federal law.”

The memo, signed by Pete Flores, a senior CBP official, was sent to CBP and U.S. Border Patrol officials.

President Donald Trump issued several executive orders related to the southern border crisis that use the term “illegal alien” following his inauguration on Jan. 20, also indicating the change.

Former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas referred to the Biden-era ban on the term “illegal alien” at a Sept. 9, 2021, National Press Club event.

“We have changed the language that we use to refer to migrants who arrive in the United States and seek relief and who do not have yet lawful presence. We do not use the term ‘illegal alien’ unless we are referring to that defined term in the statute itself, whether we are quoting from the statute or referring directly to it. We use the term “non-citizen,” Mayorkas said at the event, according to DHS archives.

More than three years ago, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation, Assembly Bill 1096, banning the use of the term “alien” to describe noncitizens in California state code.

“As the nation’s most diverse state, we are stronger and more vibrant because of our immigrant communities,” Newsom said in a statement at the time. “This important legislation removes the word ‘alien,’ which is not only an offensive term for a human being, but for far too long has fueled a divisive and hurtful narrative. By changing this term, we are ensuring California’s laws reflect our state’s values.”

A CBP memo obtained by The Epoch Times states Biden-era terminology related to illegal immigration has been revoked.