Tell the Associated Press that no human being is “illegal”

I’ve written before about efforts led by the Applied Research Center to have people, especially journalists, stop calling undocumented immigrants “illegal.” One of the main influences on the language that journalists use is the Associated Press Style Book.

I posted a tweet from them in July 2010 post illustrating their position on the issue:

The immigration debate in this country has become laden with hatred and zenophobia. A person’s actions may go against the law, but they themselves are never illegal. This video from the Drop the I-Word campaign illustrates exactly how language like “illegal” promotes hate:

Transcript here.

According to ARC and Colorlines, the AP Stylebook updated their edition last week, and left this policy intact. But they are already looking toward their next edition, and now is the time to ask them to Drop the I-Word.

Directions for taking action are here. The deadline is today, so do your part to remove this harmful language from our media.