The student government at the University of California, Berkeley has censured use of the term, “illegal immigrant.”
The UC Berkeley student government joined a similar body at UCLA by recently voting -- by a margin of 18-to-0, with one abstention -- to ban the phrase from its discourse, according to The College Fix.
The resolution passed by UC Berkeley’s student government reportedly characterized the phrase as, “racially charged,” and added, “No human being is illegal . . . ‘Foreign nationals,’ ‘undocumented immigrants,’ ‘immigrants without papers’ and ‘immigrants seeking status’ are examples of terms we can use that do not dehumanize people.”
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The College Fix cites UC officials as estimating that about 900 students are currently enrolled in the University of California, which claims 10 campuses around the state, who are not legally residing in the U.S.
Meanwhile, The Los Angeles Times reported in early September that UCLA’s undergraduate student government had approved a similar measure, known as the “Drop the I-Word” resolution.
The Times, for its part, added in its article chronicling the UCLA measure that it had advised its writers to avoid using the term, “illegal immigrant,” in articles unless employed as part of a direct quote.
“The Times, which also is restricting the use of the term 'undocumented immigrant,' has told its writers to use more specific language, such as: ‘He was brought here as a child by his parents, who entered the U.S. without a visa,’” the article added.
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