AP Bans the Term Illegal Immigrant

Doublespeak is one of the favorite methods tyrants use to intimidate and ostracize dissenters. Turning the language on its head and shunning those who don't conform, also confuses an issue and conceals its inconvenient aspects and the ugly truth.

The latest entry is the Associated Press's decision to abuse its stature and tell us illegal Aliens - the term under the law - are not even illegal:

The Stylebook no longer sanctions the term “illegal immigrant” or the use of “illegal” to describe a person. Instead, it tells users that “illegal” should describe only an action, such as living in or immigrating to a country illegally.illegal immigration ...Entering or residing in a country in violation of civil or criminal law. Except in direct quotes 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.

Evidently, the dictionary will now have to change the word illegal from an adjective to a verb in order to conform with AP's declaration. Even the current politically correct term is unacceptable:

The discussions on this topic have been wide-ranging and include many people from many walks of life. (Earlier, they led us to reject descriptions such as “undocumented,” despite ardent support from some quarters, because it is not precise. A person may have plenty of documents, just not the ones required for legal residence.)

Hey, just because you don't have a passport, visa, or green card, it doesn't mean you're undocumented if you can produce a Sam's Club membership card.