Biden Administration Orders ICE, CBP to Stop Using Terms 'Alien,' 'Illegal'

The Biden administration reportedly ordered ICE and CBP to stop using terms like “illegal alien,” in an attempt to make the immigration system more “humane.” The new changes replace “alien” with “noncitizen or migrant,” “illegal” with “undocumented,” and “assimilation” with “integration.” The changes were first reported by The Washington Post, which obtained memos sent to department heads at ICE and CBP on Monday. A similar memo was sent in February by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services head Tracy Renaud to members of that agency. President Joe Biden also proposed a bill to replace words like “alien” from U.S. immigration laws on his first day in office. Coverage was more common in mainstream right-rated outlets than mainstream left-rated outlets. While coverage was mostly similar across the spectrum, coverage in right-rated outlets was more likely to point out that terms like “alien” are used in federal law. Learn more about how AllSides writes about unauthorized immigration here.