Federal agencies will no longer use the terms “alien,” “illegal alien,” or “assimilation” when talking about immigrants.
According to The Washington Post, memos sent to department heads at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection on Monday detailed the change.
The term “alien” will be changed to “noncitizen or migrant,” “undocumented” will become the new term for “illegal,” and “assimilation” will become “integration.”
The change comes as the Biden administration seeks to undo immigration policies and rhetoric put forth by former President Donald Trump.
A 2019 analysis from USA Today examined the rhetoric used by Trump surrounding immigration during the 64 rallies he held since 2017.
Trump used the term “invasion” at least 19 times, “animal” 34 times, and “killer” roughly nearly three dozen times when referring to immigrants.
The former president during his rallies used the words “predator,” “invasion,” “alien,” “killer,” “criminal” and “animal” more than 500 times while discussing the topic of immigration.
During a rally in Panama City Beach, Florida, Trump said, “This is an invasion. I was badly criticized for using the word invasion. It’s an invasion.”
President Joe Biden previously weighed in on Trump’s rhetoric.
“The words of a president matter,” he said in Iowa in 2019. “They can unleash the deepest, darkest forces in this nation. That is what Donald Trump has chosen to do.”
Trump told reporters he is confident his rhetoric unites Americans.
“I think my rhetoric … brings people together. I think we have toned it down. We’ve been getting hit left and right from everybody,” he said.
Biden for the first time on Saturday admitted the situation at the southern border is a “crisis.”
