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NumbersUSA Media Response jeremy beck AP bans "illegal immigrant"...is "sovereignty" next? Mindy, You may have heard the outrageous news that the Associated Press has dropped "illegal immigrant" from its vocabulary -- unless it appears in quotes. They have also dropped "illegal alien," "illegals," and "undocumented." CONTACT THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: AP Style Book: stylebook@ap.org Tom Kent, Head of AP's Style Book: tkent@ap.org If you wish to multiply your message, google "illegal immigrant ap" and click on any of the media links to leave comments. If the media wants to use the legal terminology, they can use "unlawful alien." This is what one NumbersUSA member wrote to the AP: "You have made a very foolish and shortsighted decision in banning the use of "illegal immigrant." In effect you have declared that American citizenship is an obsolete concept. "This is a step back, not a step forward, for social justice as well as for honesty in journalism. "The reasoning you offer to distinguish between entering the U.S. illegally and being an illegal immigrant is strained, and has no basis in logic, fact, or the law of the United States. "If there is no such thing as an illegal immigrant, there is no such thing as a lawful citizen. "That is the plain fact which you are trying to obscure. "In the spirit of Theodore Hesburgh and Barbara Jordan on immigration policy, I urge you to reverse your unfortunate and misguided decision." Pro-amnesty lobbies have been pressuring the media to drop "illegal immigrant" for years but have stepped up their efforts in recent months. Their next target is the New York Times. The Times' Public Editor reports that the paper is also considering dropping "illegal immigrant." You can contact the Times' Public Editor, Margaret Sullivan, at: public@nytimes.com As this video from the Media Research Center shows, language matters in the immigration debate. Voters who don't know the difference between "undocumented workers" and "illegal immigrants" are more likely to say they support some form of amnesty. jeremy