Two terms for the same situation — a person living in a country without valid immigration status — that differ in what they emphasise. Undocumented points at the missing paperwork; illegal points at the breach of law. Major style guides, including AP since 2013, advise against "illegal immigrant" on the grounds that the adjective describes an action rather than a person.
What each term picks out
- undocumented — focuses on the absence of valid documents or authorisation.
- illegal — focuses on the status being contrary to immigration law.
Both are used of the same circumstance. The disagreement is about emphasis and about what the adjective attaches to.
The style-guide position
The Associated Press changed its guidance in 2013, advising that illegal should describe an action rather than a person — so "entered the country illegally" rather than "illegal immigrant". Several other outlets and guides followed. The reasoning given was one of precision: an act can be illegal, while calling a person illegal applies a legal judgement to their existence rather than their conduct.
The legal distinction underneath
Part of the argument turns on a real point of law. In the United States, entering without inspection is a criminal misdemeanour, but remaining without valid status — which is how a large share of cases arise, through visa overstay — is a civil matter, not a criminal one. So "illegal" as a blanket description covers situations that are not criminal offences.
The other terms in use
- irregular migrant — the term preferred by several international bodies
- unauthorised — common in US government and research usage
- out of status — technical, describing someone who entered lawfully and whose permission has lapsed
- alien — a formal legal term in US statute for a non-citizen, now widely avoided in journalism for its connotations
Choosing
Which term a writer uses is generally read as a signal, so the practical advice is to be specific about the circumstance rather than reaching for a label: "overstayed a student visa" or "crossed the border without authorisation" says more than either adjective and does not require the reader to guess your position.
